


Until All Is Lost

by Subl1m1nal



Series: Mimic Verse [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, MimicVerse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:15:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 38,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24705940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Subl1m1nal/pseuds/Subl1m1nal
Summary: Something was different, something was wrong; but no one cared to see.The looking glass is clouded and distorted, yet those who look through it are oblivious to the imperfections.If no one notices an issue, why fix it?..."You're not Techno."
Series: Mimic Verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1827214
Comments: 293
Kudos: 928





	1. Chapter 1

"How long will you be gone for?" Tommy grumbled, kicking the dirt beneath his feet with a sour expression. Techno's dull eyes met Tommy's, who was quick to look at the dust-ridden air around his feet. The taller male remained silent for several moments, almost to the point where Tommy was sure there would be no reply, until finally there was a small sigh in response. 

"One to two weeks." Techno grabbed his iron sword, shimmering with enchantments, and fastened it to his belt loop before locking his eyes back on Tommy. Tommy never minded being watched by others; in fact, Tommy often enjoyed being the center of attention. Something about Techno's gaze made him squirm, however. Techno's stare makes one feel like prey before its predator. His cold analyzing eyes had once frightened Tommy but now only unnerves him. After all, no matter how much Techno poked at and teased him, Tommy knew Techno loved him as a brother would, and he felt the same.

"Weeks?" Tommy all but shouted as his head shot up; his eyes once again connected with the dull black pupils. He didn't dare look away this time. Tommy's stare remained as though he was challenging Techno. Of course, like most challenges against Techno, he lost, and his eyes sunk solemnly. "Why, what's so important that you're leaving for so long?"

Techno's lip quirked up at the question, swiftly swinging his bag of supplies around and onto his back. "Nothing, I just want to get away from you." 

"What- that's not true! I'm a joy to be around," Tommy replied quickly, shoving his hands in his pants' pockets. "Everyone loves me."

"Everyone loves to be away from you," Techno corrected as he shook a hand through Tommy's hair, who let out a loud noise of protest and swatted at the disturbance. "I'll be back sooner than you think; don't get too bent up about it." 

"I'm not!" Tommy defended as the claim implied he cared about the other, which would damage his pride too much to admit. "I want you gone, trust me. But when am I going to be able to explore without you coming to get me, claiming it's too dangerous? I'm an adult. I can handle a little adventure."

Techno looked at him with a straight face, shaking his head. "Tommy, you're sixteen. That's a few years short of an adult." Techno's shoulders dropped in defeat, running a hand through his hair as Tommy kept a steady, determined gaze. "Fine."

"Fine?" Tommy asked, surprise evident on his face. He straightened up, clearing his throat as he made a weak attempt to look bigger than he was. "I mean- yeah. Fine is right. I deserve to go. So uh- should I get ready?"

"What?" Techno looked at Tommy with a confused expression, which immediately made Tommy's shoulders drop. "No. Not today, Tommy. Today's trip is for big kids only."

"I am an adult, Techno! You said you'd take me." Tommy stomped like a frustrated child, which made Techno sigh.

"You're so much trouble; that's exactly why I don't take you with me," Techno complained, dragging a hand down his face. 

"I'm sorry!" Tommy apologized exasperatedly. "I'll be the best teammate you've ever had! Let me come, and I'll show you!" Techno shook his head immediately, which made Tommy groan loudly in annoyance.

"Can you let me speak? You're lucky I'm giving you an option." Tommy looked up at him, debating whether to say anything to annoy his friend, but deciding to ignore his internal conflict and keep quiet. "I will- if you don't ruin everyone's life while I'm gone- take you to the Nether when I get back. For a day. An hour. A few minutes." 

"A day it is!" Tommy affirmed with a nod, a smile replacing the annoyed look that painted his face prior. Techno nodded with a bored look, but amusement danced in his eyes. "Alright, get out of here now." 

"What happened to you not wanting me to leave?" Techno asked. His lips pointed up as a small, amused puff exhaled from his nose. 

"I never said I wanted you here," Tommy explained, once again protecting his pride. "However, now I have more reason to want you gone. Once you get back, I'll have my bags packed for the Nether."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up, brat. I'll be back soon; don't make everyone hate you while I'm gone." Techno warned, rebalancing the crown on his head as he turned and began down the dirt path. 

"Yeah, yeah." Tommy mimicked in a bored tone, waving Techno off. He's watched Techno walk down that road many times, but for some reason, this one felt different. This time, it felt wrong. He thought about telling Techno he loved him in a weird brotherly way, to stay safe, to be careful. But he didn't say a word. Techno's always safe and careful. So instead, he wordlessly watched the figure fade down the path into the sunrise. 

Tommy hadn't seen Techno since then. It was day 8, not that he was counting. He watched Wilbur pluck at his guitar and hum in a gentle tone as Philza rest his head against the table they occupied. The three sat at Wilbur's outdoor patio and wordlessly enjoyed each other's company. 

"I'm bored," Tommy voiced. He received a nod from Wilbur and what he thought was a hum of acknowledgment, but it could have easily been a note in Wilbur's small tune. Philza sighed as he raised his head with closed eyes. 

"And I was falling asleep before you interrupted," was the muttered reply Tommy received from the blonde before hearing a light thump, which indicated Philza had laid his head back down once more. 

"Oh, well. Wake up and entertain me," Tommy demanded before laying his head back on his chair and staring up at the clouds. It was light out today, but there were obvious gray tints in the distant clouds.

"Hm, how about no?" Wilbur answered for Philza, receiving a small chuckle from the tired man beside him. Tommy heaved a loud sigh, slinging an arm over his eyes.

"You guys suck." Tommy felt a second pair of eyes on him.

"Ok, fine. What do you want to do, Tommy?" Philza inquired as he sat up. Tommy heard the scraping sound of the chair against the ground as he repositioned himself. Good, that means they aren't ignoring his troubles.

"I don't know. You guys have to entertain me, not the other way around." Wilbur's tune came to a sudden halt. Tommy picked his head up curiously, examining Wilbur, then the guitar which sat on the table before him. "You didn't have to stop playing."

"I know," Wilbur replied, stretching his arms with a calm, close-eyed expression. He peeked an eye open, and his lip quirked up into a smirk. He quickly reached across the table and pinched Tommy's cheeks, pulling and stretching them while Tommy yanked at his wrists in protest. "But poor Tommy wants attention," Wilbur cooed in a babying tone. 

"Get off!" Tommy fussed, grabbing Wilbur's beanie and pulling it over his eyes as his wrist prying showed no effect. Wilbur laughed as he let go, prioritizing his vision over bothering Tommy. Tommy rubbed his cheeks, which were now sore after the attack. 

"Oh. Hey, look, Techno." Philza casually acknowledged, effectively gaining the attention of both Tommy and Wilbur. The sound of footsteps grew closer as the two swung their head to the direction Philza had been staring.

"Techno!" Wilbur cheered, waving at the figure as he walked closer. There was a bright smile plastered on the pig lover's face. The three were puzzled by the unusual behavior but didn't dare mention it and ruin Techno's mood. "Did you get some good loot?"

"What makes you think that?" Techno asked. There was a small, almost unnoticeable sway to his step as he approached the table. Tommy noticed, though, and it did nothing to help his confusion.

"Well, you look happy is all," Philza explained, shrugging as he fiddled with the sleeves on his blazer. "Not that it's a bad thing."

"Oh, I'm just happy to see you guys," Techno said, causing the three to adopt confused expressions. Techno took notice, and his expression soon mimicked theirs, then faded into one of realization. "Long trip, glad to be back."

"Yeah, and don't forget, you promised me half of the loot you got." Tommy joked, waiting for Techno to shoot down his claim. The rejection never came, however, and in an instant, a bag slid in front of him. Tommy looked up with a shocked expression and met his eyes. 

It felt wrong. The eye contact no longer held the same intensity as it usually did. It felt like he was staring at an entirely new person. "What?" Techno asked, snapping Tommy out of his daze. "I promised, didn't I?"

"No," Tommy muttered, looking down at the bag in confusion. Surely Techno would remember the promises he made, right? It had only been a week after all, and Techno doesn't have the worst memory. 

"Must've forgotten," Techno murmured with a shrug while his face maintained a cool expression. "Go ahead and take what you want anyway. I don't mind." Tommy ignored the alarms in his mind and brushed off the odd behavior for a chance to dig through the loot. Techno rarely shared his findings, so he refused to let this opportunity pass.

"Wow, you sure you're feeling ok?" Philza laughed, watching Tommy with amusement. "Letting Tommy get anything he wants from your stuff? That's not like you." He teased, looking over to Techno. Techno shrugged with a small smirk.

"You know how it is," he began, his smirk growing as he met Philza's eyes. "Always feels nice to give to the poor." The three chuckled at Tommy's offended objection, but the boy never looked up from where he dug through the bag. Tommy finally pulled back from the bag, holding an old worn down mirror. 

"Why'd you keep this? It's not exactly in the best condition. I can't even see my reflection." He muttered as he examined the mirror, jumping in surprise as Techno quickly reached across the table and snatched the mirror and bag from him.

"I changed my mind. You took too long choosing. Beggars can't be choosers," Techno replied in a dull tone as he shoved the mirror back in his bag. He sat in the chair beside him, positioned between Wilbur and Philza. His head sat rested on his hand as his dull eyes returned to Tommy. "And as for the mirror, I kept it because I was planning to trick you into thinking you were a ghost with it. I thought it'd be funny to see you panic and cry with everyone ignoring you. "

"I wouldn't cry, I'm not a child!" Tommy retorted, shooting up in his chair and looking at Techno with an annoyed expression. The group chuckled at his expense, the outcome of the prank seeming accurate to everyone but Tommy. He huffed and sunk back down, arms crossed over his chest and eyes avoidant of others. 

"Of course, you wouldn't." Wilbur chuckled, causing Philza to laugh as Tommy's frown grew. 

"You guys are jerks," Tommy complained, throwing his hands up in defeat. Philza only cackled more. Despite the teasing, Tommy couldn't help the smile that made its way to his face as he looked from Philza to Wilbur to Techno. However, with Techno, his gaze lingered, watching as his friend surveyed the group with a small smile. He couldn't fight the small voice in his mind screaming that the other was acting odd, but he could muffle the noise with the excuse that Techno had a long trip. 

"Oh! Techno, Tommy's been claiming all week that when you'd return, you'd take him to the Nether, is that true?" Wilbur asked, chin in hand as he looked at Tommy with a knowing look. Techno tapped his cheek, and Tommy became distinctly aware of the eyes on him. 

"No, I don't think I remember promising that," he claimed with a shrug, only to receive a shocked look from Tommy. Tommy shook his head and began loudly disagreeing. Why wouldn't Techno remember their deal- that doesn't make sense. 

It was probably a mistake. Techno was probably joking- or maybe he did forget. Tommy didn't see anything too spectacular in Techno's loot to indicate a long journey, but he could be mistaken. He had to be mistaken. What else could be wrong with him? Tommy shook his head to clear his thoughts as his friend's laughter died down.

"You have to gotta be careful with all of these jokes, Tommy. Haven't you heard of the boy who cried wolf?" Philza asked with a grin, ruffling Tommy's hair playfully. Tommy ducked away from the hand with a glare. 

"Yeah, duh, I'm not stupid. Besides, Techno did- ah nevermind." He grumbled as he fixed his hair with puffed cheeks. "You all suck. I hate you guys." Wilbur and Philza waved off Tommy's statement with a grin, but Techno's eyes lingered on him.

"Do you?" He asked with a confused voice, causing the three to stare at him worriedly. Wilbur quickly shook his head.

"No- he loves us," Philza reassured while smiling kindly at Techno. "You know that. He's just annoyed we're all picking on him again." Techno nodded quickly, nervously chuckling as he scratched his neck.

"Yeah, I know. I don't know why I asked that. I zoned out or something, " Techno said in a short-lived panic, quickly covering his confusion with a blank face and a shrug. 

"Maybe you should get home and rest," Philza suggested, earning nods of agreement from the other two. Techno nodded, rubbing his eyes as though to emphasize the point. 

"Yeah, you're right. Can you walk with me, so I don't pass out on the way or something?" Techno asked, looking at Philza with a tired smile. Philza patted Techno's shoulder sympathetically, agreeing without hesitation. The two rose and after brief goodbyes, walked away from the other two, and disappeared towards the direction of Techno's home. 

Tommy looked at Wilbur, who had returned to playing a small tune on his guitar. "I wasn't the only one who noticed how weird that was, was I?" He asked, but Wilbur seemed nowhere near as concerned as Tommy was. 

"Tommy, Techno's fine, he's just tired. There's no need to worry about him. I thought it was nice to see him smile for once. Is it that weird to be happy to see your friends after a long trip?" Wilbur asked, and in a way, Tommy understood. 

But Tommy could not accept Techno's abnormal behavior. Tommy could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. A pit of unexplainable dread sat in Tommy's chest, and he had no clue what to do about it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you came from my Instagram, hello!! If you didn't come from my Instagram, hello! Nice to meet you!  
> Anyways, thank you so much for reading! Feedback is always appreciated, and I am so sorry if there is any grammatical errors.
> 
> I love you all, stay safe, and see I'll you next time. Good Morning/Afternoon/Night.  
>  :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy's catching on.

After a traumatic event, the mind can block out information about the situation to protect itself. The issue is that unless the trauma was physical, the brain doesn't block out other unassociated memories. 

Trauma, a traumatic experience while on his exploration, that's what the others are claiming Techno may have experienced while adventuring. Shock is what prompted his changes: his sudden extraversion, positive outlook, and friendly attitude. Tommy believed this theory for a while, ten days to be exact. That's how long it took everyone else to accept Techno's new personality as ordinary. A mere week and three days for everyone's idea of a person they've known for years to change. 

Tommy only fell out of his delusion because of the sudden realization that their memories don't align. 

"Hey Techno- do you remember that one time I ran away, claiming I was going on an adventure since you wouldn't let me go with you?" Techno's head snapped towards Tommy's with a curious stare. The two were on a walk down a path that bordered a thick wood. The sky was clouded, so the lack of sun left a cool breeze in the air, which Tommy preferred on a walk.

"Yeah." Techno grinned, nodding his head as he looked down at Tommy. "It was hard to find you, but I'm glad I was able to get to you before any zombies or skeletons came out," Techno recalled, patting Tommy's head fondly. Tommy stopped walking for a second, stumbling on his feet as he slowed.

No. That's not what happened. It wasn't hard for Techno to find Tommy, because the second he ran away in frustration, Techno was one step behind him. He followed him the whole time. Not only that, but Techno didn't get to Tommy before a zombie arrived. Tommy distinctly remembers tripping on a root and twisting his ankle as he fell face-first into one. Techno, of course, saved him from the monster and carried Tommy home, making sure to yell at him about how stupid he was on the way back.

"Is something up? Why'd you stop walking, you tired?" Techno asked as he walked over to where Tommy stood, staring at the woods. He rested a hand on Tommy's shoulder and looked at the woods with the boy. 

"This is where I ran to, the woods. You yelled at me so much when you got back from that adventure," Tommy lied with a grin, watching as Techno nodded in agreement. The two stared at the oak forest, as opposed to the one Tommy ran in. The birch forest near his home. Besides, Techno never went on the adventure. He stayed in favor of keeping Tommy company and helping him out with his injury. Tommy was testing Techno on a memory he knew had stuck with him as much as it had Tommy. 

"How could I forget? I was worried about you the whole trip. I'm glad it wasn't too long of one," Techno acknowledged, nodding as he smiled kindly at Tommy. Tommy nodded, returning the smile as he began to walk again. 

"I'm glad you remember," Tommy murmured, the only noise following was Techno's footsteps beside him cutting through the silence and a small hum of agreement. 

Upon arriving back at his house, he waved goodbye to Techno and quickly closed the door. He didn't dare move from his spot at the door's lock until he saw Techno down the trail through the window. The second the kingly figure disappeared from view, Tommy moved quickly to close all the blinds.

He collapsed on his couch, staring at the notebook in front of him with a confounded expression. There was a simple phrase written on top of the paper, Operation Copycat. Tommy knew now this Techno was not Techno, but to convince the others, he'd need proof. He'd need a plan.

Tommy began by listing the noticeable differences, his lack of ambition for a start. Techno would have never given Tommy the opportunities to win against him in anything before. His ego was too big. Since his return, however, Techno allowed Tommy to win duels, even when it was apparent he was going to lose. 

Another change was Techno's charisma. Tommy thought Techno had socialized with more people in the past ten days than he had in the past year. He never conversed much without being pushed into a conversation, it stressed him to no end, and he always struggled to find the right words to say. Techno now, however, initiates and carries conversations with ease. Sure, Techno had already been improving since before his trip, but this rate of improvement was exponential.

Techno now also had an optimistic view as opposed to his pessimistic nature. His new easy-going attitude replaced his usual it's-the-end-of-the-world one. 

The differences were now apparent to Tommy, and he was frustrated he hadn't been more concerned about it prior. The new concern he has for the situation only grew when he realized the similarities between the two Techno's as well. 

The first similarity was his appearance. After all, the imposter did look and sound like Techno. Tommy may not have been suspicious enough to challenge Techno's memories if his behavior had been even just a little more similar. Not only his looks but his likes and interests, Tommy's noticed, were the same too.

He seemed to maintain Techno's appreciation for pigs, however it's an easy interest to match. Another detail slightly harder to know of was Techno's love for potatoes. The imposter seemed to know of this too. Tommy was most confused by the similarity between his Techno and imposter Techno's fighting style. 

He and Techno had sparred multiple times the past few days, and the imposter's skill with the sword was equivalent to Techno's. A hard feat to master and even more so to copy. His fighting style was just as dirty as Techno's, with tricks thrown in to catch Tommy off guard and plenty of hand-to-hand combat. Fighting is like handwriting; nobody's style is the same, no matter how similar they are. However, their combat was the exact same, and that was the biggest source of turmoil for Tommy. 

"This is insane," Tommy murmured to himself as he looked at his theories. Theory one, a stalker had stolen Techno's identity and was now impersonating him for an unknown reason. Theory two, Techno has a twin brother, and they swapped for fun, or his brother was evil and replaced him. Theory three, a clone, presumably evil, has replaced Techno and trapped him somewhere.

These were all stupid, illogical, irrational ideas, and Tommy knew there was hardly any chance his friends would believe him. But there was no point in giving up now, and if he wanted to help his friend, he had to try to convince them. He heaved a long sigh, picked himself up with the note pad, and rushed to the door. With a swift click, the door was open, and he was halfway down the street on his way to share his concerns. 

Tommy was too caught up in his loud thoughts to notice three figures growing closer. That was until he crashed into one of them, sending both of them sprawled out on the ground. Tommy sat up quickly, rubbing his head and retrieving his notepad before noticing a hand extended in front of him. He accepted the hand, getting hoisted up and coming face to face with A6D. 

"You're in a hurry. Why the rush?" the Frenchman commented, eyes trailing over to Bad, who was helping lift a dazed Skeppy to his feet. 

"Yeah, kinda, I am so sorry-" he began, patting the dust off of his pants as he composed himself. "I've gotta tell someone about Techno."

"Oh? What about Techno?" Bad asked, helping Skeppy dust off before turning his attention to Tommy. Skeppy, too, turned his attention to the boy, seemingly unphased by the collision. 

"I wanna know too," Skeppy agreed, the three now staring at the boy expectantly. Tommy looked at the notebook in his hands, then the trio, then the notebook once more. He flipped to the page with the contrasts and comparisons before handing it to the trio who scanned the contents. 

"Techno's not Techno!" he blurted out, suddenly feeling like the world's biggest idiot. "I know it doesn't sound real- but his behavior doesn't make sense." He could tell they didn't believe him. Their eyes screamed judgment towards his claims. 

"Oh, Tommy- Techno hasn't been that different. Maybe he's just trying to improve himself as a person. That explains the new attitude towards friends, kind behavior, and optimism," Bad offered, giving Tommy a kind, sympathetic smile. "I understand that friends changing can be confusing and hard- but you've just gotta be there to support him and-."

"No- you don't understand," Tommy countered, watching BBH's smile falter. "A personal improvement doesn't explain memory loss and-."

"Dude, an evil twin? That's insane. It's more likely that he just forgot some things," Skeppy said with a shrug, and Tommy looked desperately to A6D. Someone had to believe him. 

"I agree with Skeppy and Bad. Sorry, Tommy," A6D replied, still looking at the notebook curiously. Tommy groaned in frustration, snatching the notebook out of his hands while staring at them with a look of disappointment painted on his face.

"Fine- yeah ok. See you guys later, just forget about it." He muttered, hurrying off in the direction he had been going before. He ignored the distant apology from Bad and kept running. 

Tommy skid to a stop in front of Wilbur's house, heaving to catch his breath. His friends will believe him, surely they'll notice. They've got to, because if they don't, who will? Tommy knows he can't do this alone. He hurried into the home, not bothering to knock. At the couch sat Wilbur and Philza, their previous chatter now at a halt. 

"Tommy, how many times do I have to say knock-" Wilbur began, but Tommy rushed over and shoved the notebook into his hands. Wilbur looked at it, his annoyed expression quickly shifting to one of concern.

"Tommy, are you ok?" Philza asked, noticing the boy's flushed, disheveled appearance. Tommy took a shaky breath and pointed at the notebook, which Wilbur began to read to himself. Philza joined him for a moment before both of them looked at Tommy for an explanation.

"You have to believe me." Tommy all but begged. "Techno isn't Techno." The two looked at each other worriedly, then back to Tommy, who wanted to scream at them. 

"Tommy-"

"No! No, don't say anything yet," Tommy began, waving his hands franticly. He was sure he looked insane, but he needed them to believe him because he wasn't. "I know that all of the personality things are explainable- but he doesn't have the same memories I do!"

"Tommy, of course, he doesn't. He's his own person. He may have a different point of view and memory than you," Philza explained, his voice laced with sympathy and worry. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," Tommy huffed, running a hand through his hair as his eyes burned. "And I understand that, but our memories are too different! They couldn't have been from the same situation! He remembers an oak forest. I remember birch!" He shouted like it would make everything clear.

"Tommy, calm down. Shouting won't help anything. Listen, we have no clue what you're talking about with forests, but is it possible you've remembered it wrong? Or maybe he forgot some details?" Wilbur asked, looking back at the notebook, probably scanning to find anything related to the woods. 

"You guys don't believe me," Tommy hollowly stated, watching as the other two exchanged eye contact once more. Their eyes once again met Tommy's, and he felt his heart sink. 

"We didn't say that- just- can you sit down? If you explain more, maybe we can help you come to an understanding," Wilbur offered, rising to his feet as Tommy tugged at his hair in frustration.

"You didn't have to say it," Tommy complained, glaring at the two with frustrated, teary eyes. He snatched the notebook back and sighed shakily. "Nevermind. Ignore everything I've said. It was stupid of me to trust you guys to believe me."

"Wait, Tommy-" Tommy didn't hear much after that. He rushed out the door, almost colliding with Techno, who was standing at the door in a knocking position. Techno seemed quick to notice Tommy's distress and grabbed his shoulders in a gentle but secure grasp, staring at him with a worried expression. 

"Whoa- what's wrong?" Techno asked with such concern that it made Tommy really wish it was the real one who was holding him now. But it wasn't, and that just made Tommy's tears flow more. 

"Nothing, don't worry about it," he muttered, pushing out of his grip and rushing down the porch steps. Wilbur and Philza were in the doorway by the time Tommy made it to the street, and they were calling after him with Techno. If you asked Tommy, though, he'd tell you he didn't hear a thing as he rushed back to the comfort of his home.

...

..

.

"Oi, Techno. Wake up, stupid." 

"If you want him to wake up, keep talking, Tommy. Your voice is annoying enough to be an alarm."

"Shut the hell up, Wilbur."

Techno peeled his eyes open, flinching when greeted by a blinding light. His arm instinctively went to cover his eyes as he sat up. He rubbed his eyes, trying to ignore his pounding headache.

"Look, you got him up." An emotionless voice that sounded strangely familiar said. A burst of loud laughter followed it, causing Techno to turn to look for the source. 

"Wilbur?" He asked because the man in front of him mostly resembled his friend. Aside from the green eyes and the different outfit, he looked the same. A black short sleeve shirt with a green beanie replaced his usual white shirt, black jacket, and red beanie. Off-white bandages wrapped his hands, and a bored look covered his face as opposed to his usual happy-go-lucky smile.

"What's up with your eyes? They're black instead of blue," The same voice from before said beside him. His head snapped in the direction, and his confusion grew. 

"Philza?" The man before him, like Wilbur, resembled his friend, but there were still differences. For one, a green and black striped headband sat in his hair, in a similar way to Sapnap's headband. His usual green attire and black blazer was now a black teeshirt, and a tattered black jacket with green accents hung loosely on his figure. He wore dark green pants, much like his Philza's shorts, and military-like combat boots. 

'Philza' looked him up and down, a suspicious look accompanied his stare, but it was barely noticeable on his annoyed face.

"You're right, his eyes are black, and he's not wearing contacts," a boy who looked like Tommy stated, stepping into Techno's view. 'Tommy' had dark blonde hair, almost brown, that was unkempt and sat messily on his head. He wore a white, dirt-coated t-shirt with torn sleeves and a red jacket tied around his waist. There was a large tear in his jeans around his right knee, and his red converse looked as though they'd seen better days. He had an assortment of scars and injuries littering the dirt-covered skin that he didn't have before Techno left on his trip.

Now that Techno noticed it, each of them had more scars than they had prior to his journey. 

Techno had a growing pit in his stomach that something was wrong, and he felt like this wasn't a simple prank his friends were playing on him. He reached for his sword but found it was gone, as well as his usual outfit. A black cloak now replaced his usual red cloak that once completed his king-like attire. In fact, his white shirt was now tied by a black piece of fabric as opposed to his red one, and his hands were now wrapped with bandages like Wilbur's, but his traveled up his arm like a sleeve.

Techno only had a moment to take in his new appearance before he heard Tommy say "He's not Techno." He made an attempt to get off the sofa he was on, but Wilbur quickly held him down with Tommy's help. Immediately after, a loud thunk was heard in the room, and Techno went limp in the duo's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thank you for reading, and thank you for all of the support! I appreciate every single one of you so much!! You're all amazing, I love you. Stay safe. Good morning/evening/night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno gets a visitor.

Techno looked around his cobblestone prison for the thousandth time. Sadly, there wasn't much to look at, no windows to help tell time, no furniture aside from a small twin sized bed in the corner of the room. The room was, however, connected to another cobblestone jail with a bathroom inside. The shower water was cold, and there were no towels for once you did bathe. The only door to freedom was the iron one, which was also his only way of counting the days. 

Techno's captors seemed to be competent enough to understand basic human necessities and provide him with water and a meal every day. He's had fifteen meals since being captured, but Techno believes some days he's given two. The people who bring him his food alternate, and the days he received two, he assumes it's the kinder ones.

Fake Mega, Zelk, A6D, and Tommy, those are the ones who bothered to bring him extra meals. Tommy was the one who confused him the most out of the four. The others seemed to have a kind nature about them, Mega actually said a word or two to him, asking how he was feeling, but didn't seem to understand his sarcasm when he replied fan-fricken-tastic. Zelkam wasn't exactly friendly, but he did offer Techno more food in return for a haiku. Techno, luckily, passed English with an A. A6D was sweet, patient even. He sat in the room with Techno as he ate, and when Techno requested more water, he gave him some without argument or complaint.

Tommy was different. He wasn't kind like the other three, but he still brought Techno two meals a day. He was patient, like A6D, but would get annoyed if Techno stared at him too long, which Techno did when he zoned out. Tommy didn't speak much and seemed to grow frustrated if Techno questioned him. Techno once asked the look-alike Tommy why he would give him more food than Wilbur or Philza would. At first, Techno didn't think Tommy would answer, as the only response was a glare. The glare was only momentary, however.

"Because you're still Techno. Just not my Techno." He left it at that and exited the room quickly after. That was four meals ago, and Techno hadn't seen the kid since. 

The people who came to give him food changed daily, but today had restarted the pattern. Going from first to last was A6D, Wilbur, Zelkam, Tommy, Philza, and Mega. Earlier today, A6D had brought him his first meal.

Luck seemed to be on his side. He needed A6D, or Mega, for his escape plan. He'd be damned if he had to sit in this cold, damp chamber a minute longer. 

When A6D had visited before, Techno asked as kindly as he possibly could for a single towel for his shower. A6D, the sweet, poor fool he was, accepted whole-heartedly. In his defense, what could one do with a thick piece of fabric? So now, in his bathroom, sat a neatly folded, plain white towel. 

He had to be patient, though, wait for the second meal. Then he could act. He had every intention to rest until that moment before he was rudely interrupted by a voice in the hallway. His thoughts of ignoring said voice ceased the second he realized he recognized the voice. 

"Yeah, you'd like it there. They're all so nice and easy to get along with," the voice- no- his voice said. He sat up and stared at the door, confusion washing over him. The person, Techno number two, because he's number one, was talking to didn't verbally reply. At least, not to the volume that Techno could hear. "Yeah, I'll tell you guys the plan later. For now, don't tell anyone I was here. Is he in there? I wanna talk to him." 

So, Techno Two was talking to more than one person. Sadly, Techno had no idea who or how many people. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the click of a door opening. There, in front of him, stood an exact copy, grin more crazed than happy.

"Wow! You look horrible, that's great!" The clone laughed, making Techno flinch at the hollow noise. "I can tell we're opposites, I mean, you were stupid enough to let yourself get caught!" Techno rose, legs shaky as he hadn't moved them much. The copycat watched him, grin growing wider as he walked over. 

"Who the hell are you?" Techno asked, voice harsh and unused. His impersonator paused, grin dropping as he stared at Techno with an unreadable expression. Then laughter rang throughout the room, bouncing off the walls, taunting Techno. 

"Wow! Maybe the books were wrong! You're supposed to be mentally on par with me, but hey, maybe they made a mistake in writing. Anyway, since I'm so kind, I'll explain. The books seemed to use the word Mimics a lot, so I suppose I'm your Mimic," Techno Two, or Mimic Techno, explained. He seemed to notice the confusion clouding Techno's eyes because he sighed heavily. 

"Alright, I'll spell it out for you-."

"You're the opposite of me. At least personality-wise, if I'm correct, we share similarities. Like, you said we are supposed to have the same intellect, and our relationships appear the same because Wilbur, Philza, and Tommy were with me when I woke up," Techno interrupted, watching the blank stare from Mimic Techno morph into a smile. 

"See! You got it using that big brain of yours. Congratulations!" Mimic Techno applauded, walking in front of the boy. Techno glared as his eyes never broke contact. 

"So why'd you switch worlds with me? If we share the same relationships, why not just stay with your group and leave me and mine alone?" Techno asked, sighing as he tried to ignore the anger building up inside of him. Mimic Techno seemed to be getting annoyed as well but didn't hide it. 

"Who said you could ask so many questions? You don't seem to be the one in charge here." Techno remained silent, watching the Mimic's angry stare shift to a simple smile. "We may have similar relationships in people we meet and friends, but they aren't the exact same. Your world has people much more fit for my personality and preference."

"What makes you think my friends prefer you to me?" Techno asked, confidence lacing his words. He knew his friends. He knew they loved him. They'd want him back, they'd notice. Mimic Techno seemed to disagree as his loud, echoing laughter returned. 

"Oh, Techno, you have no idea. Which would you prefer, a competitive, emotionless, anti-social bully or a kind, social, humble friend? I'm everything you are. I've got your brains, brawns, and now, I have a new and improved personality. Why would they want you?" He asked, eyeing Techno as he looked away, face unchanged. The break of eye contact told the Mimic everything he needed to know, though. He exposed Techno's insecurities. 

"They'd want their friend," Techno said cooly, but Mimic noticed the waver in his voice. He smiled sweetly and grabbed Techno's chin, turning his face back to meet him.

"They've got a new one. A better one. Do you want to know how I know your friends don't care?" Techno didn't. Instead, he wanted more than anything to expose Mimic's words as lies, but he couldn't. "They don't even know you're gone."

"That's not true-"

"Oh, it is! Want proof?" Mimic asked excitedly, hands moved to Techno's shoulders, and holding them with a wide smile. "What did my friends do when they noticed you weren't me? They locked you up! Yet here I am, able to walk around freely because they trust you! They trust me! They have no clue you're gone," he paused, looking at Techno with a face of realization, "or maybe they do, and they just don't care-."

A loud noise of skin meeting skin cut Mimic Techno off, followed by a pair of groans. Mimic's pained noise turned into laughter. It started as a light chuckle before exploding into full-blown hysterics. Techno, who was holding his nose in pain, looked at the copycat with a confused stare. The other had blood trickling from his nose and a crazed look in his eye.

"Wow!" He chirped, running a hand under his nose as he wiped the blood away. "I really got to you, huh? Is it because you know it's the truth? That you're just not good enough for them? Even my friends prefer me to you-." Techno took another swing and missed, as though Mimic Techno already knew his moves. "I kinda feel bad- no one wants you! Can you blame them for not wanting someone like you, though?" 

Every punch, every kick, Mimic dodged. His smile widened at each failed attempt. Finally, Mimic caught his fist and swung back, which Techno dodged with ease. "Didn't you notice that the pain affects both of us, why are you still trying? You really want to ignore the truth that much?"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Techo snarled. His fist connected with Mimic's stomach, making both of them double over in pain. 

"I'd give up if I were you- on wanting to get back." Mimic muttered quieter as Techno caught his breath, heaving as he leaned on his knees. "I don't even think they'd want you back if they had to choose between both of us. No one would choose mistakes over perfection." Techno looked up as Mimic's footsteps receded, the figure disappearing out the iron door as it closed with a loud thud.

Techno stared at the door for a few moments longer, waiting for something- anything. Of course, there was nothing. He sunk to his knees, fist gripping his black, ripped pants as he stared down at his hands. He sat there, counting each tear that fell in an attempt to distract his mind, to focus on anything else. 

He lost count. 

...

..

.

Zelk laughed loudly at Mega's annoyed expression, tossing the green scarf to Spifey. "Take it and run!" Zelk called, grinning wider as Spifey did as asked. Mega stomped the ground like a frustrated kid as he watched Spifey run before spinning around and facing Zelk. Zelk felt a pit in his stomach at Mega's fury and quickly turned to run. 

He never got the chance. Mega yanked him back by his sweater hard. So hard, in fact, that he fell back onto the ground after losing his footing. Mega stared down at him with cold eyes, and Zelk did the only reasonable thing he could think of, play dead. He heard shuffling and peeked an eye open as he watched Mega crouch beside him. Two fingers found their way to his wrist, remaining for only a few seconds as Mega checked his pulse. A moment later, Mega stood up once more, and a shoe collided with his side.

"Ow! I'm sorry! Spifey help!" He whined, rolling away from the figure who followed. Spifey, who was a few yards away, shook his head with a worried expression.

"No way! I don't want to end up like you! Mega, please, this was all Zelk's idea! I'm going to come over and hand you your scarf if you promise not to hurt me." Mega, like always, said nothing. Spifey took a few wary steps towards the two, hands outstretched with the scarf neatly folded. Once in reaching distance, Mega grabbed Spifey's wrist with one hand and his scarf with the other. With a hard yank, Spifey went stumbling forward before tripping over Zelkam's crumpled body and colliding with the grass. 

Mega wrapped the scarf back around his face, wiping his hands on his striped sweatshirt with a huff. He looked back down to the two on the ground. Instead of the tangled mess he had left them in, the two laid on their stomach, head in hands, ankles crossed as they looked up at Mega. 

"Why are you so rude to us?" Zelk asked, trying to give Mega the best puppy eyes he could. They were horrible, of course. 

"Yeah, we're so kind to you," Spifey added, mimicking Zelk's facial expression and failing just as much as he had. Mega huffed in annoyance and pulled out his notepad, scribbling down in neat handwriting: idiots. He flipped the paper around, and the two stared at it with squinted eyes. 

"Huh, I've realized that- well- I can't read," Zelk said, shaking his head to emphasize his point. Spifey nodded in agreement.

"Mhm, me neither. Sorry, guess you'll have to, you know, verbally tell us." Mega felt his eye twitch as he stared down at the two, their faces painted with identically wide grins. He pulled out his notepad again, quickly writing.

"You only prove my point more- sorry, I can't read," Zelkam said after muttering what the note said to himself. Mega made a small grunt in annoyance and pocketed his sketchbook. 

"Oh- hey Mega, I was looking for you." A voice called from behind, causing Mega to spin around with a confused expression. Techno walked up with a gentle smile on his face. 

"Techno? You don't usually hang out with Mega- what do you need? Unless- are you here to get vengeance for his abusive acts towards us?" Zelkam asked, the two still on their stomachs, staring at the newcomer. 

"Abusive acts? If you were wrongfully abused, of course. If not, Mega should hit you again." Mega took this as an opportunity. He turned to kick the duo once more, but they were already up on their feet. 

"Hah, no thanks, have fun with Techno, Mega! You know where to find us if needed," Spifey said as the two retreated towards a house further up the hill. Mega sighed, spinning back around and looking at Techno with a bored, confused expression. 

"You're wondering why I was looking for you?" A nod. "Oh, well- I thought it'd be nice to get to know you a little more. As Zelk said, we don't hang out much. You don't have to, of course, I was just going on a walk and seeing if you wanted to come," He said with a kind smile. Mega shrugged and nodded, gesturing for Techno to lead the way. 

Techno began towards the woods, humming childishly to himself as the two walked. He'd peek over at Mega a few times to see if the other was trying to get his attention but only met with a confused stare. "What's up?" He asked after Mega's gaze remained. Mega gestured to his bruised nose, causing Techno to touch it and wince. "Oh, this? Tommy managed to get a good hit in with me while we were sparring," he said with a grin.

Mega nodded in understanding and looked around in confusion. Why were they going so deep in the woods? He went to pull out his notepad to ask but stopped when a fountain caught his eyes in front of him. It wasn't a normal fountain. Instead, it was a large fountain made entirely out of bedrock. "What's that?" Techno muttered, seeming just as confused as Mega was. As the two approached the structure, Mega could have sworn he saw a figure move in the distance. After a few minutes of gazing at the surroundings and finding nothing, he turned his attention back to Techno, who was peering into the water.

"That's so weird," Techno muttered, effectively piquing Mega's curiosity. Mega walked over to where Techno stared, bending over the fountain as well and looking in. He saw nothing but normal water. That was until something collided with his head. Then all he saw was black. 

Techno looked at the now unconscious boy slumped over the edge of the fountain, hand tightly gripped around the hilt of his sword. "Ok, he's out!" he called, watching Mimic Mega emerge from the trees. "Swap clothes and put these in," he said, handing the boy a pair of contacts. 

Mimic Mega looked from his loose alternating blue and dark blue striped t-shirt, which sat on top of his long-sleeve green shirt, to Mega's similar striped hoodie. He pulled off the face guard and fastened it to Mega's face as he took the scarf from the other. After changing the rest of his clothes, he looked at the colored contacts given to him.

"Brown." He muttered, getting a nod from Techno, who was struggling to put the clothes on Mega. 

"Yep, and you only need one for your right eye," Techno grunted, heaving Mega over his shoulder. "I'll be back."

"I can take-"

"No, you can't. What if you get seen, besides I haven't researched the portal too much. I don't know what would happen if you both went through," Techno said with a shrug, climbing over the ledge. "I'll be back."

Mega watched the two disappear before fumbling to put the contact over his single cloudy blue eye. Techno returned a few moments later, dusting off his hands as he sighed. 

"Ready to go meet your friends?" he asked, receiving a nod. Luckily, Mimic Mega, like Mega, didn't care much for speaking. One less thing for Techno to worry about.

"Ok. Let's go, Mega."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! I love your comments so much, you're all so great and kind and epic and I love you all. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you liked the chapter! It's finally starting to pick up a little. Anyways, I love you all, stay safe, and have a good morning/afternoon/night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno's out.

It had been at least thirty minutes since A6D left with his empty plate. Techno didn't know for sure the amount of time, but he did know that the building was quiet. It was time to put his plan into motion before anyone came to check on him. 

Techno looked at the towel in his hand, then to the door. It wasn't the best escape plan, but it was the only one he had. Techno walked around the walls, searching for any loose rocks which held up the structure. Luck seemed to be on his side.

In the left corner of the wall where the door sat, a few rocks felt looser than the others. Not enough to pull out himself, sadly, so plan A was out the window. A similar but more painful plan B was still applicable. Techno sighed in annoyance as he kneeled on the ground and placed the towel between the wall and him.

Honestly, Techno knew plan A, pull out the rocks and then escape, wasn't a real possibility, but he thought it was worth consideration. That's why he asked for the towel. After all, he'd much prefer punching a softer fabric covering the hard rocks than only the rocks fist first. The towel did soften the blow, but he'd be lying if he said it didn't hurt. 

After a few minutes of non-stop hammering at the rocks, Techno felt the boulder wobble. One more good hit should do it, hopefully. Techno rose, shaking off his aching hands as he looked down at the shifted cobble. He took a deep breath, raising his leg then bringing it back down on the stone with a hard kick. The rock came loose with a loud scrape, a few boulders around crumbling down as well. 

Techno winced at the new pain in his ankle, sinking to the ground with a shaky sigh of relief. His plan, aside from the pain, was a success. He tugged the rocks aside, looking at the hole just small enough for him to crawl through. He peeked out the gap, making sure no one was coming, before squirming out. Plan B, part two, figure out how to get out of the building. 

Techno stalked soundlessly through the dark hallway, eyes flickering over each door he saw, but they all seemed the same as his. He spotted light from around the stairwell up ahead and quickened his pace. Quietly, he made his way up the stairs, luckily finding nobody there. He wasn't sure he could fight at peak performance with how much he ruined his fists and ankle. There was an open window near the back of the building that he made his way to, probably less suspicious than him leaving through the front door. His luck seemed too unrealistic. Techno assumed it wouldn't last. 

"What the hell-?" It didn't last. Techno didn't look back as he jumped out the window. He could retreat and hide in the woods, but if he wanted to get back to his friends, he needed that book the imposter mentioned. Unfortunately, though the terrain was relatively similar, the building situation was drastically different. While some houses looked old and torn apart, others gave blatant indicators to those who lived there. 

One home looked relatively put together as opposed to others, and a French banner hung on the porch. That one must be A6D's, and if this were at least somewhat relative to his world, Skeppy and Bad's homes would be to the right of his house, while the Dream team's home is to the left. Techno considered that Mimic, Tommy, Wilbur, and Philza might live together. They were all there when he woke up, but then again, they may have just been watching over him until he awoke. Techno took off in the direction of where his usual home would be, hoping that it was in the same area in this world. 

His assumption that the four lived together was wrong. His home in front of him cleared that suspicion quickly. Techno quickly rushed into the house, beginning his search for the book. He had only been searching for five minutes when he heard the door click open, causing his head to shoot up from the bookshelf in alarm. Tommy stood in the doorway, staring at him with blank eyes. 

"Oh, you were here, that's stupid of you," was all he muttered before turning back to the outdoors, ready to call out to whoever was nearby.

"Wait- Tommy, please," Techno said quickly, looking at the boy with worry. Tommy looked back at Techno with a tilted head, his dull eyes shining in the moonlight.

"Why?" he asked, but he didn't make a move towards the door again. Instead, Tommy maintained eye contact. 

"I just want to get back to my friends. I want to get your Techno back here- please. I want everything to go back to normal. I know you want your Techno back, too, right?" Techno asked, watching Tommy shake his head. 

"No, I don't really care," Tommy said blankly, but Techno could detect a lie with ease. "I always knew he was going to leave one day- he always talked about it with only me. He invited me along, but I told him that I liked our world. I guess he didn't agree, though," Tommy muttered bitterly. "Didn't like me enough to stay. So, I don't care." 

He was lying again, Techno noticed. He didn't mention it, though, he just nodded wordlessly. Tommy acknowledged his silence with a sigh, shaking his head. "You're looking for his book?" Tommy asked, gesturing it to the bookshelf Techno stood by. Techno once again repeated his wordless nod. "It's the one on the second to the bottom shelf, very last on the right. The one with the gold embellishments," Tommy pointed out. He turned to the door as though he was leaving but stopped. "I don't care if you bring him back, but I can't stand to watch him suffer. Even if it's not him, you're still Techno."

"Tommy," Techno started, watching the boy tense and look back at him. "I'm not good with emotions or comforting others, but-." He stopped to collect his thoughts, running a hand through his greasy hair. "Mimi- Techno said something about copies sharing similar likes and relationships. And I think of you like family, no matter what world, so I'm sure he does too."

Tommy stared at Techno for a moment before turning back to the door with his head lowered. His shoulders jerked a couple of times, and Techno wasn't sure if Tommy was laughing or crying. The small drops of water tapping against the oak floor answered his question. It's moments like this when Techno realizes how young Tommy is. He walked over to Tommy and pulled him into a tight embrace from behind, ignoring the way the boy tensed in his arms. A hand grabbed tightly at the black cloak sleeve, and the two remained that way for a few more moments.

"Thanks, Techno. Don't stay here too long. The others will take another look here later. Stay safe and get home," Tommy said as he pulled out of the embrace, the two emotionally-stunted boys looking around awkwardly.

"I'll get him back, and you'll show him why this world is just as good as mine," Techno said confidently, watching as Tommy turned and looked at him with a grin. 

"Deal, old man." And with that, the dirty-blond boy was gone. Techno blinked, staring at the now empty doorway. 

"Old man? I'm not that old. I could beat that nerd in a fight, that'll teach him not to call me old," Techno grumbled to himself as he reached down and grabbed the old, gold decorated book. He opened to the first page, skimming it. "Well, that's interesting."

...

..

.

"-and no one believes me!" Tommy complained, throwing his hands in the air in annoyance as the masked man just stared at him, silently. The two sat on a bench in a park, Tommy venting out his frustrations. Tommy shifted and looked down at his hands with a sigh. "Sorry, I know it's insane, and you don't need to believe me. No one else does. I just needed someone to vent to, and I don't trust Techno, Wilbur and Philza are the offenders, I think Skeppy'll just laugh at me again, Bad's too pitying, and-."

"I believe you," Dream said with a shrug and a reassuring smile. Tommy looked at him in suspicion, causing Dream to hold up his hands. "No, no, really!"

"Why?" Tommy asked, feeling stupid for ranting to someone he doesn't know as well. "It is outlandish- I get why people don't believe me." Dream nodded in understanding and offered Tommy his notebook.

"A lot of us have explored in our life, but especially Techno and my team. The possibility that something happened to Techno while out adventuring is highly possible, especially since he travels alone. So really, I guess I believe the idea that something may have happened to him while he was out. I'm open to any possibility, though. A clone, a traumatic incident, a twin, doesn't matter," Dream explained, tapping his chin as he spoke. 

"I'll take that as you believing my theory," Tommy said with a determined nod. "Now, I need to figure out how to get real Techno back," he muttered, scribbling in the notebook. 

"If you need my help, count me, George, and Sapnap in. They don't get a say, but they'd agree anyway," Dream laughed, standing up and stretching. "Oh- before I go. Maybe talk to Wilbur and Philza, they may not believe you, but they're still your friends. They care about you, ok? See you later, kid." 

Tommy waved goodbye to Dream as he stood up as well. He looked over at a distant trio, hearing a loud conversation but not making out any words. Oh well, Tommy had more important things to do. He walked out the gates and down the street, mentally planning on how to save his friend.

"Mega, are you ok? You actually laughed at our antics instead of beating us to a pulp," Zelk pointed out, his eyes flickering to the left at the distant movement. It was just Tommy walking away, so he shrugged it off. He directed his attention back to Mega, who stared back blankly. 

Mega pulled out his notebook and scribbled down quickly. "Would you rather I beat you up or laugh for once?" Spifey read aloud before glancing at Mega, then Zelk. 

"I don't think it's that big of a deal, Zelk. He seems ready to beat us now, so I'd drop it," Spifey said with a grin, shoving Zelk playfully. Zelkam pushed back, knocking Spifey back a few steps. Spifey seemed to take this as a challenge and shoved back, laughing as Zelk stumbled over. Zelkam recovered quickly and grabbed Spifey's ankles, yanking them hard and causing the male to topple over. Zelkam laughed loudly, unaware of the duo approaching until being lightly kicked with a shoe. 

"Whatcha' doin'?" Skeppy asked, looking down at the two on the ground with Bad, who had gotten their attention. Spifey picked himself up, patting off his clothes while Zelkam remained lounging on the grass. 

"Zelkam was worried because he said Mega was acting differently, and I was trying to get him to shut up before Mega beat us both up," Spifey clarified while he reached down and yanked Zelk to his feet. 

"Oh? Mega, quick, tell me how many fingers we're holding up!" Skeppy said, holding up ten fingers. He looked over to Bad, who returned his stare with one of annoyance. "Come on, Bad! Just like we practiced! Please?" 

"You practiced. I never agreed!" BBH complained, but held up four fingers anyways. Skeppy grinned, looking back at Mega, who held up a paper that said fourteen.

"Aw, he didn't speak. I'm sure he's fine, Zelkam, he's still lame and rude," Skeppy said with a shrug before getting whacked on the head by Bad. 

"He's not rude, that's mean, don't say that." Mega quickly began writing, and the others looked expectantly at him.

"Zelk, Spifey's right, I'm fine. It was a laugh. BBH, thanks." He wrote, holding up the paper for the four to read. 

"Aw, no problem!" BBH said, waving the boy off with a kind smile. 

"Wait- he laughed and said thank you? Something is wrong," Skeppy said with a nod, watching as Mega flipped back a few pages in his notebook. He held up the page with a single word written on it in large, bold black letters. "Die. Why'd you have that at the ready? I take it back, Mega's fine. Let's go, BBH. Techno and A6D should be getting back soon." 

"Techno and A6D? Where'd they go?" Zelk asked as he looked at Skeppy curiously. Skeppy shrugged as he continued walking, BadBoyHalo in tow. 

"Dunno, they went to spar or something. Bye!" he said with a wave as he walked further into the distance. Zelkam watched them disappear with an uneasy feeling. He glanced back at Mega, eyes connecting briefly before Mega looked away. 

Something was off.

...

..

.

"So, where are we going to spar? And why me?" A6D asked the pink-haired king. Techno looked at the Frenchman with a smile and a shrug.

"Tommy was busy with Dream today, Wilbur and Philza aren't too big on sparring with me, and I wanted to get to know you better. As for where, well, I found this cool opening in the woods," Techno stated, his footsteps slowing as they walked, causing A6D to look at him in confusion. Techno then stared off in the distance; A6D tried to follow his gaze.

"What's wrong?" He asked, eyes returning to Techno, who continued to stare. 

"Nothing, I thought I saw something over there. Let's keep going," Techno muttered, turning his attention back to A6D. A6D nodded and began his walk, now ahead of Techno. The two continued forward, arriving at the open area with the bedrock fountain. 

"Alright, let's spar," Techno said kindly, before colliding the blunt back of his sword with A6D's head. Instead of dropping as Mega had, A6D's hands flew to his head. 

"Ow, fuck. What the hell, chill," A6D hissed, causing Techno to frown.

"Darn, I was hoping this wouldn't hurt too much. Oh well, guess a few more hits will do it," Techno said with a shrug before repeatedly slamming the back of his sword into A6D's head. A6D went limp after the third hit. Techno huffed, returning his sword to his belt and staring at the unmoving figure who had begun bleeding. "Oops, guess I hit him too hard." 

Techno leaned down and picked up the boy, tossing him over his shoulder as he made his way over to the portal. He made sure he had his mirror strapped in his belt loop as well, before jumping into the portal. 

The feeling of your body disintegrating and piecing itself together was always an odd one. Not painful or unpleasant, just a strange feeling. Techno opened his eyes and found himself standing in a bedrock fountain, face to face with Mimic A6D.

"Is this him? He's hurt," he pointed out, watching as Techno dropped him on the ground. Techno looked at A6D, then the Mimic. Mimic A6D's skin was slightly paler, though it was unnoticeable unless compared side by side with A6D. 

"He's fine. Switch clothes with him so we can get back," Techno hummed. The other nodded and quickly switched out his white jacket, which he tied around his waist, and his black t-shirt with a white box with the other's identically designed black sweatshirt. He traded his sweatpants for the other's striped black track pants and finally swapped his black and grey striped scarf for A6D's black and silver headband. 

"Alright, I'll be back. Stay here, and don't go through without me. I have to talk to someone real quick," Techno ordered, making A6D tilt his head curiously.

"Why? Something wrong?" he asked, watching as Techno finished dressing A6D and picking him up. 

"Nothing, there's just a pest we need to swap out before he becomes a problem," he said, walking off before A6D could question him further. 

Techno dropped A6D off on the porch of his house, making sure no one saw him as he did so. Now he needed to make one more pit stop. He walked along the border of the woods, stopping as he spotted his prey. That was easier than expected. 

Techno walked over to the boy, grabbing the loose pale green sweater and pulling him back into the woods with a hand over his mouth to suppress the yelp. 

"Calm down," he hummed, not removing the hand as the boy thrashed in his arms. "It's me, Techno. Actual Techno, not the phony," he said, watching the boy still in his grip. He lifted his hand as the boy with the black frowny-face mask spin around. 

"Techno?" he asked, confusion evident in his worried voice. "But, you have black eyes." Techno sighed, rolling his eyes before taking a contact out of his left eye. 

"Blue, see?" he asked, pointing at his eyes and earning a nod. He put the contact back in and returned his stare to the fidgeting boy. "Where is everyone?"

"Looking for other Techno, he escaped- where were you? An imposter showed up and-" Techno covered his mouth once more. 

"I was in an alternate world. It has people just like us, but our personalities are opposites. There are a few more complicated things, I'll explain later. They're called Mimics. I've been switching out those who I think will belong without causing havoc over there, and I think you'd like it. George and Sapnap don't pick on you as much, and you're not considered weak or anything. Sapnap's more cool-headed, and George isn't as scary. Why don't you give it a chance?" Techno asked sweetly, removing the hand from his mouth.

"I-I dunno. These guys are the only friends I have, and if I leave for too long, they may not like me," Dream answered nervously, rubbing his arm as he looked away. Techno sighed and patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"They'll still like you if you leave for a little while. If George and Sapnap are, tell them to come to talk to me, ok? Besides, it's a chance to make new friends," Techno offered with a reassuring nod. 

"A-Alright, I understand," Dream mumbled with a nod, looking at Techno, who stared back at the masked boy. 

"Good, now here's the plan," Techno began.

It was a good thirty minutes since Techno had left, and A6D sat on the fountain, kicking his legs. He looked up at the sound of footsteps and waved as Techno came into view.

"I heard from a little birdy that Techno got loose from his cage," he said in a dark tone as he approached A6D. The boy shifted nervously, fidgeting with the sleeve more as he looked away. Techno sighed and waved his hand dismissively. "Oh well, he won't get out. He's still a caged rat, only the cage is slightly bigger now," Techno muttered with a shrug.   
  
"So? Who's the pest you mentioned before?" A6D asked, looking up at Techno with a tilted head as he tried to change the subject. Techno just smiled, patting A6D's head. 

"Just a masked annoyance. We'll take care of it soon," Techno hummed, leading A6D to the fountain. Footsteps followed the two after they jumped through the portal. 

"Hm. I hope they weren't talking about me," the new presence hummed, tapping his black mask with a concealed grin. "This is just getting interesting," the figure sang, jumping in silently after them before the portal could close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! This one took a little longer to write than my last one, and idk if it's as good as the others, so I apologize if it isn't. It is a little longer, however, so I hope you like it :). Also, @ the people who comment, they're very fun to read and a lot of them are so supportive and wholesome and it means a lot, so thank you :) I appreciate every single person who even reads my story, so thank you so much, it really motivates me to keep going. I love you all so much, stay safe, and have a wonderful morning/afternoon/night. <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh Oh.

Bad was in no way stupid. He may have trouble with some concepts and subjects, but he made up for the lack of understanding with his quick thinking. His ideas and plans were always crafty and creative, and he could come up with a solution to any problem if given enough time. His mind, combined with his kind-heart and altruism, caused his downfall.

Bad was currently on his way back home from hanging out with Skeppy and A6D. A6D had returned from sparring with Techno earlier in the day, and while the two had assumed he'd be annoyed or upset with losing, he was oddly calm. Bad didn't mind the change in behavior. It was strange but acceptable. After all, Bad didn't have to yell at A6D for cursing once. 

He was almost to his house when he noticed a small trail of blood leading into the woods beside the path. He looked at the trees worriedly, it was almost night, and monsters would be out soon, but if someone or something was injured, he needs to help. He only stared for a moment before rushing in and following the blood trail. 

Luckily, it didn't lead too far into the woods, just to the point where he was out of sight. Unluckily, the red trail stopped suddenly. He looked around in confusion, spotting nothing in the darkening trees. He felt something wet drip on his face and touched it. Upon looking at his hand, he realized the liquid on his face wasn't rain. It was blood.

His head snapped up, and he quickly caught sight of a figure standing on a branch above him. A black cloak blew in the wind, his arm was outstretched, dripping the thick, red liquid onto Bad. Bad moved out of the way of the drops and peered up at the man. 

A black mask covered the boy's face, making him unrecognizable to Bad. A matching black tattered cloak with two devil horns emerging at the top of the hood, much like his own hoodie, but larger. Underneath the cloak, there was a baggy, red hoodie with black outlining the sides and what seemed like a satchel sat on his waist. His black cargo pants were tucked tightly into his combat boots. He looked strangely similar to Bad. 

Bad shook his head after examining the boy, drawing his attention back to the matter at hand. "Are you ok? Do you need help- it's getting dark out so we shouldn't stay here too long." He spoke with a worried tone, watching the figure's injured arm return to his side. Still, he didn't move. "I can take you back to my house and get you healed up-" he was cut off by laughter.

"Wow! You really did fall for it, huh?" the boy asked cooly, jumping down in front of the other. Bad stumbled back slightly, a look of confusion painting his face. The masked man pulled out a potion of healing, downing it in a single drink. "I can't blame you, though," he hummed, tossing the empty bottle from hand to hand. "It was a brilliant trap. I came up with it, after all."

"Trap?" Bad asked nervously, taking a few steps back but running into a tree. "What's that mean- who are you?" he asked, watching the figure follow after him.

"You don't recognize me?" he asked, taking off the mask. Bad's eyes widened in recognition and confusion. "I'm you, stupid." The glass bottle crashed onto Bad's head, and his body crumpled forward. The Mimic clutched his head in pain, muttering out, "Fuck, ow." 

Mimic Bad grabbed the boy who had limply fallen onto him and heaved him over his shoulders. "Tomorrow'll be fun."

...

..

.

Skeppy shifted nervously, looking between his two friends. A6D wasn't acting too strange. He was talking more than he usually did, and his language had become cleaner, and he seemed more patient. Bad, however, was completely off.

Bad seemed to be less responsive to Skeppy than he usually was. If Skeppy made a joke, Bad wouldn't grow annoyed or laugh. Instead, he'd stare or reply calmly, unphased. It made Skeppy uneasy. Not only this, but Bad seemed to pick up on A6D's profanity. 

"Ah, Bad?" Skeppy asked, no longer able to remain silent as the worry for his friend grew. The boy looked over to him with a bored stare, humming to show his attention. "What's up with you, man? You've been acting weird." 

"Oh, have I?" Bad asked, tilting his head curiously. A6D was quiet as he watched the two. 

"Yeah, and it's getting weird," Skeppy said, shrugging as he turned his eyesight back on the path in front of them. They were currently on their way to the park to hang out with Zelk, Mega, and Spifey. 

"Hm, that's odd. Maybe I just realized something." Bad's voice was cold, making a shiver run down Skeppy's spine. "Maybe I realized that the world is a dark, cruel place, and hopeful optimism will only result in disappointment and despair. Maybe I'm tired of keeping up the facade of the foolish, sympathetic friend who's way too easy to pushover." Bad's voice was like ice, and his stare was sharp as knives. Skeppy only noticed then, had Bad's skin always been this tan? Bad reached over and grabbed Skeppy's arms in a tight grip, making Skeppy squirm to break free. 

"What the hell, Bad? What're you even saying? Let go that hurts," Skeppy demanded, but to no avail. Bad's grip remained, and his face drew closer, next to Skeppy's ear.

"Maybe," he whispered, "it's about time you're the one to get pranked." Bad let go, looking at Skeppy as his face shifted through a range of emotions. First was distress, then confusion, relief, and finally annoyance. 

"Don't do that!" Skeppy shouted, whacking the other on the shoulder as he sulked. "You seriously had me worried you were going insane or something. Gah, you're getting too good at pranks," he complained, hand clutching his chest as he breathed deeply to steady his heartbeat. Bad laughed at his whining, a grin stretched across his face.

"Sorry, sorry. Your face was hilarious. You were so scared," Bad chirped, looking back at A6D whose face looked drained of color. "You look like you've seen a ghost, it's just me. Don't worry," Bad said, his voice returning to the calm tone it had been before. A6D numbly nodded.

"Ah- I gotta go," A6D said quickly, catching Skeppy's attention, "I left something back at my house. I'll meet up with you guys at the park." Before either could respond, A6D turned heel and took off in the opposite direction of the two. 

"What's his problem?" Skeppy asked in confusion, watching as Bad shrugged before beginning to walk once more. Skeppy rushed forward to his side.

"He's probably going to go tattle on me to Techno. Techno was the one who had been planning the prank. He's got a bunch of people in on it too: me, A6D, Mega, and, of course, himself," BBH explained, watching as Skeppy nodded. "You can't tell anyone that I told you, though. I think they were planning on keeping this charade going for a while."

"Don't worry. I won't tell a soul," Skeppy said with a nod as they neared the park. The two joined the trio at the top of a hill. 

Spifey and Zelk seemed to have managed to tie Mega up with his scarf and had him seated on the ground as they whispered in hushed voices. 

"What's going on?" Skeppy asked as the two approached. Zelk looked at Skeppy with a relieved expression, sighing.

"Skeppy, we've got an issue on our hands. Mega spoke. He actually said something," Spifey said quickly, running a hand through his hair. Skeppy stared at Mega with wide eyes, blinking at the panicked boy. He seemed more worried about being found out than tied up based on his lack of struggle. He seems too invested in the prank. 

Bad sighed from beside him and shrugged. "Why's that such a big deal? Maybe he's built up enough courage to speak for once?" he offered with a glance in Mega's direction. Mega's eyes widened in recognition, causing Bad to smirk and wave.

"But he never speaks, we once accidentally set his kitchen on fire, and he didn't even say a word," Zelk commented worriedly, pacing back and forth in a small line. Bad pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. 

"Alrighty, I'm not this patient. Techno had this big prank planned for us all, where he, Mega, A6D, and I would all act somewhat differently than normal," Bad explained once more. "That's why Mega spoke, to throw you off. He had finally built up enough confidence to speak to you guys, but after this reaction, I doubt he'll do it again." 

Bad made his way over and untied Mega, handing him the scarf but gripping tightly on his hand. "You don't feel like talking anymore, and you're gonna go back to your usual behavior, right?" he asked in a sweet voice despite the question appearing borderline threatening. Aside from Mega, who was nodding his head vigorously, the others didn't seem to notice. 

"Oh- I had no idea. I really fell for it- I'm sorry, Mega," Spifey apologized, watching Mega's attention turned back to him. The worried expression his face held melted and returned to a kind smile and a small nod. Zelkam also apologized, not wanting his friend to feel unconfident in speaking in front of the two. 

"Bad," a flat voice called behind the group. Bad froze, a small, sweet smile returning to his face. 

"Uh oh, the fun police have come to put an end to a good time. Can't let them catch me though, I'm on the run!" Bad called as he sprinted past Techno, who quickly turned around and watched the other descend the hill. "See you guys later!"

"Oh, Techno- don't worry about Bad too much! He had to tell us about the prank!" Skeppy called as he watched Techno sprint after the boy. Mega joined in the chase down the hill. The three soon disappeared out the park's gate, Techno close behind BBH, and Mega a little distance away. Skeppy turned towards Spifey and Zelk with a grin, "Wanna go get some food?"

Techno skid to a stop as he rounded the corner, looking at the two figures tumbled over each other on the ground. "Oh, good job, A6D," he applauded to the boy groaning on the dirt, still being crushed by Bad. He grabbed Bad by the hood of his hoodie and pulled him off the boy, dragging him in the direction of the woods. Mega pulled A6D up to his feet before turning and following the two. 

"What are you doing here, Bad?" Techno hissed, running a hand through his hair. Bad yanked his hood out of his grip and turned towards the three. 

"Oh, you know, fixing your mistakes." Techno gave Bad a confused stare, causing Bad to sigh loudly. "Your little duo here aren't convincing actors."

"You're one to talk. Skeppy figured you out in a matter of hours," A6d commented with a calm gaze. Bad frowned, eyes narrowing at the boy who quickly looked away and muttered "sorry."

"And I was able to get rid of his suspicion even quicker. I had a plan for if anyone started to figure me out, and that's more than you guys had. I had to use the 'Haha it's a prank' excuse for you guys, too, because one of you was moments away from being exposed," Bad snapped at Techno, his glare shifting to Mega. The mute boy looked down at the ground with tears pooling in his eyes, earning a sympathetic pat on his shoulders from A6D.

"You're right- ok. You helped us out, sorry for getting annoyed," Techno grumbled, biting his thumbnail in worry. "I just didn't expect you to follow us. You don't usually cooperate. Why are you here, anyway?"

"I watch my friends go through a weird portal and return with almost identical copies of themselves. Simply put, I was intrigued. Besides, Skeppy was having another whiny silent-treatment fit," Bad explained, an annoyed look crossing his face when he mentioned Skeppy. "All I did was beat him in hand-to-hand after he stole my muffin."

"Ah, wait- where'd you put Bad?" Techno asked, realizing now that his friend had copied their actions and exchanged clothes. Instead of the usual apocalyptic look, he now wore a black hoodie with red edging and small devil horns extruding out the hood. He had a grey undershirt and a brown sword sheath and crossbody belt to hold the iron sword on his back. His pants were black with red lining going down the middle, to the knee, then splitting into two separate red paths looping to the side. His boots were light grey and matched his gloves and undershirt. He was in Bad's clothes, so he had to have taken care of him. 

"I knocked him out and tied him up in his house. Don't worry, I feed and water him twice a day," Bad explained with a shrug, watching as Techno nodded in agreement. 

"Ok, we'll put him in our world at some point, but first, I need to deal with a bigger problem." Bad tilted his head curiously at Techno, who looked towards the park with a sigh.

"You're talking about Dream, right?" A6D asked before Techno nodded in agreement. 

"Yeah, he's catching on," Techno muttered, leaning against a nearby tree. Mega pat his shoulders comfortingly, much like how A6D had done with him and received a small smile from Techno. 

"Just use the same excuse I did. Say it was a prank and use that as your story. If Dream asks questions, just improvise," Bad offered.

"Can't. It may work for a little while, but Dream'll figure it out again. He's too smart. Besides, I already told our Dream that we're going to switch him out. He's easier to intimidate into behaving," Techno explained, earning a nod from around the group.

"Good luck getting him to act as confident as this Dream is. If they're opposites, they have the opposite confidence in themselves, right?" Bad asked, once again receiving a nod. 

"They're not complete opposites, though. They still have the same likes and dislikes, and I'm pretty sure he still hangs out mostly with George and Sapnap," Techno explained, "so if it's things he's already confident in, like interests, he'll be fine."

"Shit," Bad muttered, shooting up. 

"What?" A6D asked worriedly, the others watching as Bad groaned into his hands. 

"You said the same interests? I thought it was the complete opposite! I've been feeding my copycat all of my least favorite foods because I thought he liked them. I'll be back. I have to go home and make sure he eats," he muttered before rushing off towards his house.

"Huh, I didn't think he'd care that much. Then again, if Bad starves, then he may too since they're so close," Techno muttered as he tapped his chin.

"Ah- I was wondering about that. When you knocked out my copy, I had a headache. So our pain's connected?" A6D questioned. 

"Yeah, but since we're closer, it's more accurate. From what I read, if our copy sustains an injury in their world while we were in ours, then the effect on us would range from a small cramp to being physically ill. It depends on the intensity. However, the closer we are to each other, the more the pain matches. It will never be exactly equal, though. That's why Mega didn't pass out too, despite being so close when I knocked out his Mimic," he explained, watching as the two nodded in understanding. Techno began towards the exit of the woods, the two following quickly after him. 

"Alright, lesson over. Get going, hang out with your friends, or go rest. I have to deal with our problem," Techno grumbled, waving the two off. Mega nodded and quickly rushed off down the street, presumably to find his friends. A6D remained, however, looking at Techno with a curious gaze. 

"You don't need help?" he asked with a tilted head. Techno shook his head, smiling at the offer.

"No, I'll be alright. If Dream is suspicious, he definitely won't go if he thinks we're outnumbering him. I can take care of him, so go have some fun," Techno muttered darkly. A6D didn't bother to argue and merely nodded and waved bye as he walked away. 

Techno huffed as he walked off towards the Dream Team's home. Sapnap had built it because he was the only one somewhat capable of putting together a functioning home. If he wanted Dream's cooperation, he needed to be somewhat convincing, so Techno returned to his bored facade as he neared the house. 

He only needed to wait a moment after knocking on the door for it to swing open and to come face to face with the masked menace. Dream let his shock show for merely a second before his face went blank again. "Oh, hey, Techno."

"Hey Dream, hope I'm not interrupting anything," Techno said, watching as Dream looked back behind him. Upon turning back around, he leaned on the door frame with a grin.

"Nope," he assured, popping the 'p' and gazing at the king. "Why, what do you need me for?" he asked, suspicion lacing his voice.

"It's nothing too important, so it can wait if you're busy. There's this weird structure I found in the woods the other day. I've had a couple of people check it out with me, like A6D and Mega. We can't seem to figure out what it is, and I was wondering if you'd come to check it out with me, preferably before night, see if you recognize it," Techno explained, concealing his smirk as he noticed Dream's tense grin become more relaxed and gentle. 

"That sounds fine. Let's go now, Sapnap and George don't need me at the moment anyway," Dream said, closing the door behind him as he stepped out. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at Techno. "Lead the way, king-man."

It didn't take the two long to reach the woods, Techno making friendly conversation on the way and silently praising himself as he watched Dream become more relaxed as they walked. Upon arriving, the two could easily be mistaken as best friends with how they were joking with each other. Techno didn't dare let his guard down, though. He had a plan, and there was no chance he was giving up now. He was so close.

"Oh wow, you're right. This is weird," Dream muttered as he walked to the fountain. "It's a bedrock fountain? So it's naturally spawned, that can't be built or destroyed." 

"Mhm, it's odd. I haven't seen anything like it before," Techno replied as he silently crept up on Dream, who had been gazing into the water. He took his sword out and held it in a manner where he could strike him promptly. He held the sword up and swung the back of it down onto Dream's head.

He swung at air. Dream had rolled out of his reach last second. He looked to his right and saw Dream had already pushed himself off of the fountain's ledge. 

"Alright, so we're doing this the hard way," Techno grumbled, cracking his neck and holding his sword at the ready. 

"Bringing weapons to a fistfight isn't very fair, is it?" Dream asked, his hands in his pockets as a cocky grin painted his face. Techno smirked in reply and shoved his sword back into his sheath, before getting into a fighting stance. 

"Ready, go." He charged at Dream without giving him a second to think. Dream quickly dodged, barely missing a fist that came flying at his stomach. He lept back, hands still pocketed as he dodged another fist. Techno swung once more at his face, and when he leaned to the right to avoid it, kicked his foot onto the other's ankles and knocked over the boy.

Dream managed to catch himself, despite one hand remaining in his pocket and rolled out of the way of Techno's foot, which had almost stomped on his arm. Dream pushed himself back to his feet, just barely escaping Techno as the other launched at him. Techno was quick to react to his defense and whirled his fist into Dream's stomach. 

Dream had managed to lessen the blow by jumping back as the fist neared, so when it connected, the swing had lost momentum. That didn't mean it didn't hurt. He stumbled back and gripped his stomach with his free hand, coughing lightly. "Wow, two out of twenty attempts hit, you're getting better. Maybe by night you'll actually get me through that portal," Dream teased.

Techno didn't respond; instead, he charged once more at Dream. "I noticed you sprained your wrist earlier when you caught yourself," Techno commented through huffs and swings. "You're getting slower."

Both comments were true. Dream was injured, and he was getting tired. "You're right, this fight is getting boring. Let's play a new game, manhunt," Dream commented as he ducked under another fist then immediately jumped over the low kick that followed. "Catch me if you can." And with that, Dream turned on his heel and hurried out into the woods. 

Techno didn't make an attempt to follow. He had lost sight of him the second he weaved his way behind the trees. Dream was a dead man anyway. The boy was injured, didn't have a weapon, and the sun was going down. Besides, the path back to town was tricky unless memorized like Techno had, especially if you run the opposite direction further into the woods. 

By nightfall, the masked boy would no longer be an issue. Techno smiled widely, he won. He turned back to the fountain and sighed as he sat on the edge. 

The new plan: he'd tell Mimic Dream that he needed to wait a few more days, then he'd get him over. For the lack of confidence, he can explain that Dream had gotten lost in the woods and the days and nights had really taken a toll on his mental psyche. It was believable enough. 

He looked at the fountain, might as well update his Dream while he's here. He jumped into the water, waiting for the familiar feeling of dissolving. 

It never came. He quickly resurfaced and pulled himself out of the water, eyes widened as he looked at the fountain. Was it broken? No, that wasn't possible, it was bedrock. He reached down, ready to examine the mirror for any issues, but froze. His hand grabbed at air. The mirror was gone. 

He blinked at the sudden realization. One of Dream's hands remained in his hoodie's pocket ever since he ducked out of the way of Techno's first attack. Techno's hand collided with the bedrock as he cursed loudly. 

"This is inconvenient."

...

..

.

Dream stared down at the mirror in his hands as he lounged on the tall tree he had scaled moments before. A lazy smile made its way to his face as he looked out to the sun going down. 

"This is convenient."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! Nice to see you all again! I hope you like the chapter, thank you for reading!! 
> 
> Now that formalities are outta the way, WooO Doggie!! This was a long chapter, but I am on a schedule and I love to provide :) It's getting into the good parts, so stay tuned gamers :)) 
> 
> Anyways it is three thirty am, I gotta post some mediocre/ok art, and then go into a coma until it's time for the next update!! 
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading, we're almost to a thousand and we passed 100 kudos!! Thank you so much!! I hope you all stay safe, I love you all so much, and have an good morning/afternoon/night.
> 
> PS thank you to my sister she spent two hours reviewing this and spends hours reviewing every other chapter. If it wasn't for her my grammar would probably have scared you all away, so very epic of her :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meetings take place.

The sound of the night outside had finally begun to lure Skeppy into slumber. He had been awake for hours by this point, his thoughts too loud to permit him to sleep. He shouldn't be worried. Bad had put an end to his suspicions by assuring him his friends' odd behaviors were the aftermath of a prank. That should have been enough to convince him, and it was for a while. 

It wasn't enough, Skeppy noticed. Bad was different. He was impatient and calm in response to Skeppy's pranks. His words were callous and lacked sincerity, and his eyes were no longer soft and warm, but cold and harsh. 

A6D wasn't any better, the usually quiet friend now spoke more than ever. He seemed patient with Bad and his teasing, and he wasn't quick to anger like usual. No matter how much Skeppy tried to annoy A6D, he only ever received a simple shrug or laughter. It had only been two or three days since his friend's strange behavior began, but it bothered him to no end. 

Not only this, but another issue riddled the town. No one knew where Dream was. Two days ago, George and Sapnap went through town asking if anyone's seemed to know where he went. No one had. Tommy seemed unsettled by the news.

Skeppy could tell he was on the brink of sleep as his consciousness seemed to drift further from the thoughts of his friends. His breathing was slower, and his eyes struggled to stay open. So he closed them and let the inevitable slumber take him. 

That was until a loud knock sounded through his house. His eyes shot open at the noise, and he sat up abruptly, looking towards the direction of the sound through his ajar bedroom door. He sat still for a few moments, unsure if he even heard anything as silence remained. Just as he went to lay back down, the pounding noise began once more, but this time it didn't cease. 

Skeppy rose quickly and rushed to his front door, slipping on the wood floor due to his socks inhibiting friction. He managed to make it to the door, quickly unlocking it before swinging it open to face his agitator.

There stood Sapnap, a sheepish grin plastered on his face. "Sorry, I had to wake you up," he whispered. There was a finger pressed to his lip, which told Skeppy to do the same. Skeppy rubbed his eyes and yawned, looking at the other, who had ditched the baggy white overshirt with the flame design and had only worn his black undershirt.

"Why? What couldn't wait until morning?" Skeppy whispered back. Annoyance was explicit in his voice, but Sapnap seemed to ignore it. He merely shrugged, a lazy, tired smile painting his face. 

"Dunno, he won't tell us until everyone's there. Come on." Sapnap grabbed Skeppy by the wrist, dragging him out of his house so swiftly that he barely had time to close the door. 

"What- where are we going? Who won't tell us what? Sapnap, I am not even dressed-" Skeppy began, his whisper slowly rising in volume. Sapnap spun around and slapped a hand over his mouth. 

"You have to be quiet and crouch. Please, you'll understand soon. It's an emergency group meeting," Sapnap spoke in a hushed whisper, gesturing to A6D's house. Skeppy gave a confused stare but nodded, following Sapnap's lead as they snuck under the windows of the home to remain unseen.

Group meetings tend to happen bi-monthly. It was a point where everyone in their small village of outcast friends met up and discussed any situations and updates of assignments. Each person in their town had a duty, whether it be farming, mining, building, protecting, and other smaller tasks. They each depended on each other, and it's how they remained functioning on their own. 

But as mentioned before, group meetings occurred bi-monthly. Their last meeting was a little over a month ago, so an impromptu gathering meant something was wrong. The fact that it was nighttime only further proved that point. Not only that, but it seemed like some of their friends didn't receive the warm invite he had. 

Sapnap had let go of his wrists as they neared the Dream Team's home, which looked desolate from the outside. The lights were off inside, and there was no indication of a meeting. The group's conferences usually took place in the Dream Team's home as it was spacious and comfortable, and the team insisted on the assembly remaining there. 

The duo walked into the house, the lack of lighting causing Skeppy to stumble over dark obstacles. Sapnap waved his hand, signaling Skeppy over as he walked to a door that hadn't been there the last time he visited. Upon Sapnap unlocking the door, Skeppy noticed the darkness encasing a descending staircase and only hoped he didn't have to go down it.

Skeppy quickly shook his head no as Sapnap gestured for the other to go down. His response only earned him a silent huff before a hand once again grasped his wrist, ushering him through the door. The door closed behind him as he stumbled on the steps, and Skeppy suddenly spun around in worry. He's definitely getting murdered. 

"Calm down and go ahead, everyone else is already waiting there," Sapnap said, pushing Skeppy's shoulders as he began down the stairs.

"Oh God- they're all dead, aren't they?" Skeppy whined. Sapnap stopped, hands still on Skeppy's shoulders as he gave him a puzzled look. He chuckled in amusement before nodding.

"Definitely. Everyone's a ghost, too," Sapnap confirmed as he continued. They finally reached the bottom, and Sapnap opened the door before the two, a bright light now engulfing the dark stairwell. The room was relatively spacious. Redstone lamps illuminated the chamber, and a long table sat in the middle with thirteen chairs. Six of the chairs were occupied. "Aw, was I the last one back?" 

"Yep," George replied, popping the 'p' as he rose out of his chair. He strolled over with an outstretched hand, Sapnap groaning as he handed him an ender pearl. Sapnap's eyes surveyed the room, landing on Tommy for a moment before his lips quirked up into a grin. 

"Nice pj's, kid," he hummed, watching the blond look down at what he was wearing. He had a loose white shirt that read 'I'm the MAN' on it in big red letters with navy blue sweatpants. 

"I am the man," he said with a shrug, earning various noises of disagreement from around the room. He gasped, looking around with an exasperated face. 

"Tommy, you are no man. You're literally a child," Zelk pointed out, earning stifled laughter from multiple sources. 

"No, no, no, sir. Mister Innit is no child. One day I will run this village, and you'll rue this day, Zelkam," Tommy assured, earning more laughter from the room. Sapnap gestured for Skeppy to take a seat as he went to his own next to George. He found himself sitting next to Zelk, who continued to bother Tommy. "Zelkam, I think you are stupid."

"Tommy, this is a democracy. You will not be running this village anytime soon," a familiar voice pointed out as the door opened. There were varying responses. 

"Dream!-"

"Where were you?-"

"Were you out there since the beginning of that conversation?-" Dream looked at George, his face emotionless as the cold dead smiley face on his mask stared at him. 

"No comment. Anyways, welcome to casa de Dream Team. Let me explain some things, and then we can do questions. Deal?" Murmurs of agreement resonated in the room. Dream nodded with a grin. "Good. So, where to start?" 

"You didn't have a plan before calling this meeting?" Sapnap asked in disbelief, also receiving the cold, dead stare from Dream. 

"No comment. I'll start with what you're doing here. I sent my goons to retrieve you because- I'm sure you've noticed- we've got a few problems among us. Some of our friends don't seem to be who we thought they were." Dream, instead of taking a seat at a chair, sat on the edge of the table. His actions gained a noise of protest from Sapnap. "Tommy, you were right, almost." 

"Wait- really?" Tommy asked, shock evident on his face. "I-I mean, of course, I am, but why do you think so?" he asked, a suspicious glint in his tired eyes. 

"Technoblade. I think he had plans to replace me, but he couldn't catch me, of course," Dream replied, fiddling with his strings. "There's a fountain of bedrock in the woods. I think it's where the other versions of us come from, kinda like a portal or something."

"I want an apology," Tommy interjected, staring at Wilbur and Philza. The two looked from Dream, who stopped his explanation, to Tommy.

"Tommy, is now the best time?" Philza asked, but this only seemed to upset Tommy.

"It's a great time! You guys made me feel like I was going insane- no one believed me! And now we're learning I was right- and Techno's been in that portal for who knows how long because you didn't think he was different!" Tommy complained, his hands thrown in the air. "I spent so many nights awake figuring out how to save him alone because my two closest friends hadn't believed me at all-!"

"You're right, Tommy. I'm sorry," Wilbur apologized, seeming to notice Tommy's growing hysteria. "We saw the differences after you mentioned it to us, but we didn't want to admit it wasn't him."

"We didn't exactly know how to help, but we should have apologized a while ago. I'm sorry too, Tommy," Philza agreed, holding his hands up in defeat. Tommy's glare softened, and his hands lowered, crossed against his chest. 

"Apology not accepted," he muttered, but there was a small grin that betrayed his words. "I want you to beg at my feet and admit I am far more intelligent than you two."

"Dream, continue before I regret apologizing to the rat." Wilbur turned his gaze away from Tommy, who gave him a shocked face. 

"Alright, the good news is Technofake can't access the portal," Dream chirped, pulling out the mirror and flipping it in his hand. "I got the key."

"Good news implies that you have bad news," George pointed out, flipping his glasses on and off his face. 

"Patience, Georgie-Porgie. I'm still talking. We're rescuing our friends, aka everyone not at the table: Bad, A6D, Mega, and, of course, Techno." Dream cast a glance at Tommy; of course, it was unseen due to his mask. "Bad news is some of you have to stay back to distract the fakes, especially Techno. We don't want to fight him," Dream explained. 

"How do we decide who stays back, because I'm going for Mega," Zelk asked, earning a nod from Spifey.

"I've already figured it out. Wilbur and Philza, we need you guys to distract Techno. Spifey, you've got to occupy Mega, Skeppy-."

"No way! Both of my friends are gone! I'm going after them!" Skeppy protested, but Dream shook his head.

"I need you here, please. Bad and A6D are going to expect to hang out with you because you're the only one that isn't a fake between you three," Dream explained with a frown, watching Skeppy sulk in defeat. "We'll get them back, don't worry."

"George, Sapnap, and I will go after them. Thanks to my tactical plan of acting like I was missing, Technofake will have no clue where we are. He'll probably suspect Sapnap and George are looking for me. Tommy'll come with us, Techno'll appreciate it. Zelk will also join us because he can take the wrath of Mega." 

"Mega will be so mad we're taking so long," Zelk muttered, a shiver running up his spine. "Wanna switch, Spifey?"

"Not a chance," Spifey replied, laughing nervously.

"Any questions?" Dream asked, surveying the room. Tommy's hand shot up, and Dream quickly pointed at him.

"When do we leave?" Dream grinned and stood up, the chair screeching as it scraped against the floor. 

"Now. There are some tools in the chest over there. Get what you need and meet me upstairs. If the ones who are staying need to get some rest, go ahead, but if you want to come to see us off, you're welcome to join," Dream offered. There seemed to be an agreement that everyone would go along the trip to the portal. 

After everyone rejoined upstairs, Dream led the group out of the house. They all remained silent as they made their way through the village to the woods that Techno had led Dream. The sun had begun to rise, making the path clear to see. George, Sapnap, and Skeppy had the task of taking care of the mobs they passed. It wasn't long before they arrived at the infamous fountain in the woods.

Dream began towards the portal, but before he could make it halfway across the clearing, an arrow stuck out mere centimeters from his foot. 

"I wouldn't move a step closer if I were you," a voice hummed from the group's right. There, leaning against the tree, was Technoblade. "Mega's not the worst shot, and he will shoot you if needed." Mega waved from a branch in the tree Techno leaned upon. 

"You seem a little outnumbered," Dream pointed out as the others readied in a fighting stance. 

"You know I could take out half of you by myself. Besides, it's four versus nine. Not too hard, after all, Bad's on my team," Techno pointed out, causing the others to look around in search of the other two. "And he's ruthless." 

As Techno said that, a sword extended to Dream's neck. Dream didn't seem phased by it, his mouth set in a thin line. "How'd you know?"

"You really think I wouldn't notice? I always have an eye out, and people randomly leaving their home at night and sneaking to your house, well it told me all I needed to know," Techno explained. He sighed loudly, looking at the group with a disappointed frown. "I thought we were getting along. Just give me the mirror, and we can go back to being friends. No fight necessary."

"No can do, your majesty. We want our friends back," Dream said. He quickly ducked under Bad's sword and swept his leg out, knocking the boy over. "So, I guess we fight." 

Techno groaned, pulling out his sword and shrugging. "I do this out of love," he hummed before running at the boy. Sapnap quickly shot in front of Techno's run with a shield, but Techno seemed to use this to his advantage. He kept his speed, hopping on the shield and causing Sapnap to bend under his weight before he lunged off of it like a board. Dream quickly jumped out of the way of his attack and rolled along the ground. 

Dream surveyed the group. Bad was fighting Skeppy, who was getting back up from Zelk and Spifey. Tommy and Wilbur were dodging arrows from Mega while Philza was trying to advance towards the tree to get the archer down. A6D was sneaking up on Spifey- wait-. 

"Spifey-." His warning was cut off by a boot colliding with his mouth. 

"You forgot about me!" Techno sang as he jabbed his sword at Dream, who rolled out of the way. Dream pushed himself up swiftly, heartbeat loud in his ears. George grabbed his hoodie and yanked him towards him and Sapnap, the two shielding him. Techno let out a noise of distaste and rolled his eyes. "You're little bodyguards are annoying. They should be more concerned with themselves."

Sapnap yelped in pain, stumbling to his left and leaning against George. George looked to the boy worriedly, his attention now misplaced. Techno kicked the shield, forcing George to stumble back and Sapnap to hiss at the movement. Dream grabbed the boy and picked him up, now noticing the arrow sticking out of his calf. "Fuck- George, hold him off for a second," he instructed as he rushed off with the injured boy. Dream leaned Sapnap against the other side of the fountain where there was little commotion and began examining the wound. 

Dream took his hoodie and used his sword to cut off the sleeve. "Alright, this is going to hurt. Count down from three."

"Three," Sapnap began through gritted teeth, "two- ow, shit!" Dream ripped the arrow out and quickly tied the sleeve around his wound tightly. Sapnap was breathing heavily, and Dream gave him a sympathetic frown. 

"I've gotta go help George. You sit here and shout if anyone comes," he said as he rose. Sapnap nodded understandingly, "I'll be back."

Dream rushed over, staring at the new battlefield. Philza was busy fighting Mega, who he had managed to get out of the tree, with Wilbur. A6D was fighting Tommy. The two seemed to be landing hits on each other. Spifey was collapsed on a nearby tree, holding his stomach, which coated his hand with blood. Skeppy was trying to get Bad off of Zelk, whom he was repeatedly punching. Finally, Techno had managed to knock George down and looked like he was about to stab- oh no. 

Dream rushed at Techno, not thinking as he launched at the King. Luckily Techno didn't notice him until it was too late, and the two went tumbling in the grass. Techno managed to get on top of Dream and began slamming his fist onto the mask as hard as he could. The mask cracked under his constant pounding. Dream managed to punch Techno in the eye, watching the man falter. He took the opportunity and shoved Techno off of him. 

Techno stumbled back, his body shaking with laughter. "You're bold," he said cooly, a murderous glint in his eye. Dream picked himself up and felt his body ache in protest. He couldn't stop, though, he had too many people to rescue. He took a fighting stance and thus began their dance. 

Techno threw a swing, Dream dodged. Techno kicked, Dream jumped. The pattern repeats. Techno managed to get a hit in here and there, but he missed most of his swings. Dream weaved himself through the attacks as though he knew them before they came. 

Techno became tired of their game, and the murderous glint grew more dangerous. Techno shouted in annoyance and pulled out his sword, a mad smile making its way to his lips. 

"I've already won, Dream. Take a look around. One person's down on my team, and three are out on your team," Techno pointed out, spinning his sword in his hand. It was true. Skeppy wasn't exactly out, but he was trying to carry an unconscious Zelk away from Bad, who had begun fighting Philza and George. Wilbur and Tommy began to double team A6D after Tommy took more severe hits. "And I have the mirror."  
  
Dream's eyes widened as he looked down to check his hoodie pocket. It was still there, but he had let his guard down. Techno swung his leg into Dream's side with a loud laugh, watching as Dream stumbled to the left. He coughed, eyes steady on Techno as he waited for his next attack. 

A loud cry cut through the air, and their eyes turned towards Tommy, who had an arrow through his right shoulder. Another whizzed past and shot through his hand, which held his sword that clattered to the ground. A6D gave Mega, who now rose with his bow at the ready, a thumbs up.

"Seems Bad's regeneration potion worked," Techno hummed with a toothy grin as Tommy retreated towards the fountain, ripping the arrows out along the way. Techno turned his attention back to Dream and lunged at him. 

Dream and Techno tumbled to the ground and began their wrestle once again. Techno managed to shove his hand in Dream's hoodie pocket, pulling out the mirror and raising it above Dream's reach. 

"Fine!" he shouted, an annoyed look in his eyes as he got off the boy. His shout gained everyone's attention, and the fighting momentarily ceased. "You want the mirror so bad?"

"Techno-!"

"You can have it!" The mirror collided with the ground before Dream with a loud shatter. A loud rumble filled the air, and each person's attention was on the fountain. Water began to overflow from the portal, and a thick fog filled a small diameter around the fountain. Those fighting closer to the woods could see nothing through the cloud. Then suddenly, the fog and water dissipated. 

Skeppy, Zelkam, Tommy, and Sapnap were gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh gee I'd write more in this note thing but this took hours and it's 5am and the grind never stops but I wish to rest please,,
> 
> Anyways ty for reading I love you all muaaahhh <3
> 
> Good Morning/Evening/Night, I love you all so much <3 Ur all so amazing and cool and epic. Ty for being great and for being you. Stay safe.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno lore? I suppose?

Techno hasn't had a stone sword since preschool. Ok, that was a lie. He had a wooden sword in preschool and got suspended for threatening others with it. 

From that point on, he learned how to hide weapons better. Second grade was when he upgraded to a stone sword. The point is, he has to downgrade due to his Mimic's lovely idea to not only steal his identity but his items as well. A sword was necessary, though, for his grand plan, so he'd have to put up with it. 

Techno walked through the woods, feeling a strange nostalgia for his teen years. Techno never saw a point in going to high school, as the information taught had no relevance to what he knew he wanted to do with his life. Besides, Techno already learned everything, so the lessons would only be a recap. 

Techno really wanted to be a traveler, adventuring through smaller villages, caring only for himself, and doing what was necessary to survive. He wanted to be the ruler, not of people, but himself. He decides his fate and his fate alone. Of course, that wasn't what happened. 

His drifting lasted about two years, and it was going quite well. He had a decent plan, hunted for food, and took on simple tasks to make a few bucks when necessary. He wasn't lonely, or at least he didn't notice if he was.

His routine was interrupted when he stopped one day to get some water, however. It was a hot day, and he was in an open field, not a soul around but him and a nearby pond. Techno decided to ditch his tools for a second while he went down to get a drink, a rookie move that he's since learned not to do. 

Upon returning to where he had left his tools, he found a rat. The rat had been holding his sword when he got to him. 

"Hey, kid. What do you think you're doing with my sword?" Techno asked, watching the kid spin around and face him with a nervous expression. His worry drained the second he saw Techno and was replaced with one of annoyance.

"I'm no kid. I'll have you know I am thirteen," the blond said, before looking back at the sword. "Anyway, finders keepers. I don't see your name written on it." Techno felt his eye twitch, and he got ready to curb stomp the kid.

"It's literally written on the hilt, hand it back before I have to take it by force," Techno grumbled. The boy rotated the handle, reading the messily carved name against the wood.

"What kind of name is Technoblade?" Techno kicked the kid's legs out from under him, grabbing the sword from his loosened grip as he fell on his back.

"It's a nickname. Now get running back to your parents, brat. I'll spare you this once," Techno ordered, looking down at the kid, who's face held a dazed look. The boy sat up, shaking his head as he looked up at Techno. 

"You have to teach me that-."

"What? No," Techno replied quickly. "I am not sticking around here just to teach you how to drop someone."

"Then I'll go with you! Mister Tommy Innit and Techno Blade. Perfect duo, don't you think?" Tommy was the boy's name. Techno huffed, picking up the rest of his gear.

"You don't, apparently. I am not teaming up with a nerd whose parents want him home before nine," Techno retorted, beginning to walk down the hill, hoping the boy would get the message. He didn't.

"Good news, Mister Blade! I don't have parents, so you don't have to worry about that." Techno stumbled over his feet at the declaration but didn't stop. "The orphanage people don't care if I leave either. After all, they don't care much for me in the first place. I always get beat up there, that's why I want to learn how to fight. They don't do anything about it. Another thing-." 

"Kid, are you trying to guilt-trip me or something?" Techno asked, spinning around and staring at Tommy with a bored expression. 

"Hm, a little. Most of it is true, though. So, did it work?" Tommy asked with a wide grin.

"Nope," Techno replied, continuing his journey into the woods. Tommy whined from behind him, but footsteps followed after. They kept following him; no matter where he went, no matter how many times Techno threatened, or fought Tommy, they followed. 

Techno never agreed to Tommy's request to tag along, but like Techno, Tommy had decided his own fate. No matter how hard Techno tried, he couldn't change his mind, so he let the boy be. He was still the ruler of his world only now he had another person included in his narrative.

Then he had another. He met Wilbur next. Wilbur had run away from home and was seconds away from a panic attack when Techno found him. Wilbur was a hundred times easier to get along with, compared to Tommy. Techno agreed that Wilbur could tag along if he did the cooking, which Wilbur whole-heartedly accepted.

Then Wilbur met Philza, whose town was left in ruins after he returned from a visit to another village. He didn't know what happened in the three days he had been gone, but a lot can change in a few days. Techno didn't invite him along, Wilbur did, but Techno didn't oppose. 

Then Techno met Skeppy, who hadn't had the best home life. Once he gained the courage and support from his friends, he ran away. Techno had already known Skeppy from elementary and middle school, but he hardly talked to him. Skeppy always seemed like the class clown, loud and happy, while Techno was more the quiet kid in the back.

Techno recognized only two people in Skeppy's group, Bad and A6D, as they also went to school with him. He never really interacted with them, though. The other three, Zelk, Mega, and Spifey, he didn't recognize.

Spifey was a childhood friend of Zelkam, and they 'rescued' Mega from a life of boredom. In short, they left their neglectful families, and when they saw Mega was in the same situation, kidnapped him. Zelkam theorized that since Mega's family didn't seem to talk much to each other, Mega doesn't know how to talk because he never learned. Mega didn't confirm nor deny this theory. He just kneed Zelk in the stomach.

Finally, Tommy ran into the Dream Team.

"Ey! Get off my turf!" Tommy shouted at the two who were chasing the hooded man. The three skid to a stop, each of their heads snapping in the blond's direction. "You're committing suspicious activities in my land."

"Your land?" the one in the blue asked, sword lowering. Tommy nodded, arms crossed with a frustrated look plastered on his face. 

"You're, like, twelve. How can you have land? I don't see a house here," the one in black long sleeves and a white overshirt pointed out, watching the teen's face morph into one of surprise. 

"Oi! I'm fourteen, stupid. Anyway, if you don't get out of here, I'll order my servant to get you out," Tommy replied, throwing a glare towards the bandana-wearing boy.

"And who would that be?" the one in the mask asked, a small smile painting his lips. 

"His name's Techno-." He was cut off by a shriek. It was his own. A pink-haired male in kingly attire had swept a leg from behind him, causing the blond to fall backward. A hand gripped his red and white shirt, however, preventing him from colliding with the ground. "Oh- hey! Techno, my man! What brings you here?"

"Tommy, why oh why, when something happens, is it always you?" Another voice asked from the woods, as a male in a beanie towards the scene.

"That's not what's important. These guys are on our turf! Techno, get them!" Tommy declared, watching Techno give a bored look to the three, then a glare back at Tommy. 

"We don't have a turf, Tommy. And if you order me around again, I will drop you," Techno grumbled, holding Tommy's shirt like he weighed nothing. "Sorry if he bothered you three. I don't know him."

"Nah, you're fine. We were just playing Manhunt to decide which of us find dinner for the week. Dream, by the way," the masked man explained.

"George," the one in blue with glasses waved. 

"Sapnap," the boy with the black and white overshirt called, smiling widely. 

"Sapnap is a stupid name," Tommy grumbled, followed by a yelp as Techno dropped him. 

"I'm Wilbur, that's Techno, and the nuisance is Tommy. Don't mind him. Anyway, if you guys want, you can join us for dinner. We have a big group, so we cook a lot," Wilbur offered, watching the three look to each other.

"No, thank you-," George began, but Dream cut him off.

"We'd love to, George shut up." George just huffed, and the three followed them back. They all grew more acquainted, and the three ended up coming by for food more often. Eventually, everyone agreed to set up a little town in their open area surrounded by woods. That was how their village came to be. 

And Techno will be damned if he's not getting it back after all of that work. Techno gazed up at the temple in front of him with a determined stare. With a newfound surge of energy, he rushed into the crumbling pile of stone. 

The second time going through was quicker than the first; he dodged the traps with ease and knew what chest he needed. He hurried down the steps, leaping over the tripwire at the end and just narrowly jumping over the lava trap. Techno skids to a stop, staring at the chest at the end of the hallway, strangely illuminated by the moon's light. 

If one were to see his movements, they would compare him to a dancer. Careful steps that almost appeared rhythmic as he dodged pressure plates, which would inevitably lead to demise if pressed. He made it to the end and shakily opened the chest. He let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. 

He pulled out the mirror, a grin painting his face. Now, to take back his town. 

...

..

.

Tommy didn't understand what was going on. One second, he was by the fountain, unbearable pain in his hand and shoulder, then he was in a suffocating fog, next he felt nothing, and now he felt everything hitting him in full force. 

He opened his eyes and looked around, his head pounding. Skeppy was near him, carrying Zelk, who was bloodied, beaten, and unconscious. Then there was Sapnap, who pushed himself up on the fountain shakily, also looking around. 

"Wh-what's going on?" Tommy asked in a broken voice. His hand clutched his other in pain, trying to put any kind of pressure over the wound. Skeppy took notice and rushed over, copying Dream's idea and tearing both sleeves of his hoodie off. He looked at the injury on his hand with a wince. 

"Hold still," was all he said as he tightly wrapped the sleeve around the hand. Tommy tried to stifle a sob and keep his arm still. Skeppy tied a knot then went to stop the bleeding around his shoulder. Tommy could see the edges of his vision fading black, and Skeppy was quick to notice. 

A sharp pain was in his cheek as his head jerked to the left. "I'm sorry, Tommy. I just need you to stay awake right now. I don't think I can carry both you and Zelk, and I know Sapnap can't." Tommy nodded, blinking hard as his vision steadied. Skeppy gave him a worried stare before standing and going to pick Zelk up from where he had laid him down. 

Tommy looked at his bloodied hands and winced, but tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his right side. "Ok," he muttered, standing up and walking over to Sapnap, who was barely limping. "Come on." Tommy wrapped Sapnap's arm over his head, careful to avoid the wound. "Lean on me, but please don't hit my shoulder."

Sapnap nodded, leaning his weight on Tommy's left, and the two slowly made their way back to Skeppy, who nodded. "Let's get some help."

The three, plus Zelk, slowly made their way back towards their village, stumbling bloodied messes. Tommy looked warily at Skeppy.

"This isn't our world," he muttered, watching Skeppy nod. 

"Yeah, I know, but if the other copies shared the same skills like the fake Techno with our Techno's fighting, then Bad still specializes in healing," Skeppy explained, watching Tommy blink drearily.

"That does make sense, so are we going break into his house?" Sapnap asked, watching Skeppy grin. 

"You guys look horrible. You're in no condition for a casual robbery. I'll do it," Skeppy joked, earning small smiles from the duo.

"Think this will scar? Techno's got some cool scars, so I want some too," Tommy explained, hearing the man he was carrying chuckling. "What?"

"Nothing looks cool on you, Tommy." Sapnap snickered louder at Tommy's face. 

"I can drop you right now," Tommy threatened. Sapnap weakly lifted his hand and ruffled Tommy's hair, a grin plastered on his face.

"You love me," he pointed out, earning a noise of disagreement from Tommy. Tommy didn't drop him, though. If anything, his grip tightened.

"Sapnap, I am sixteen years old. I will have the police called," Tommy accused, receiving laughter from the two awake. The three's slow pace came to a stop as they neared the edge of the woods. 

"I'll go to his house, you three will stay here and keep each other awake. Don't get caught," Skeppy hummed as he set Zelk against a tree. The two nodded, and with that, Skeppy left. 

  
Tommy set Sapnap against a tree adjacent from Zelkam before sinking down against his own. "Well, this day is lame," Tommy muttered as the pain in his hand felt almost numbing. Sapnap chuckled and nodded in agreement. "First, I get shot twice, then thrown in a portal, then I had to carry a sweaty man twice my size."

"Stop complaining, brat," Sapnap said with a weak grin, looking at the green tied around his leg. His smile sank, and a grim frown replaced it. "I wish I'd been more useful in the fight. I was the first one down," he muttered in distaste. Tommy looked at him, sighing.

"What mattered was that you protected your friend. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't. We may not even be over here," Tommy explained, watching as Sapnap gave him a confused look.

"I think you were trying to make me feel better, but you just told me it's my fault we're trapped over here," Sapnap murmured, picking at his nails.

"No, listen. If you hadn't protected Dream, Techno would have gotten the mirror, and we wouldn't have had the opportunity to be over here to save our other friends," Tommy explained, watching as Sapnap's frown slowly shifted to a smile. 

"Ah, I see. Then, thank you, Tommy." Tommy smiled and nodded, but a pained groan quickly caught their attention. Zelkam's hand slowly reached to his face but withdrew the second he touched it.

"Ow- what the hell," he muttered as he peeled his eyes open and looked around in confusion. "Oh, right," he groaned, before laying his head back down and closing his eyes.

"Hey! If we have to stay awake, you do too!" Tommy accused, throwing a nearby twig at the male's arm.

"Shh, pipsqueak," Zelk whispered, but reluctantly opened his eyes anyway. "You guys look bad." 

"You do too. It's a new style, though, don't worry," Sapnap said, grinning. Zelk weakly huffed, almost resembling a laugh. 

"Where're we?" he slurred, looking around and spotting the village through the trees. 

"Through the portal. I think Techno broke the mirror, and it caused us to get pulled through. Skeppy's breaking into alternate Bad's house to get healing supplies," Sapnap explained, a hand running through his hair. Zelkam nodded weakly. 

The sound of approaching footsteps caused everyone's heads to snap up in alarm. Relief flooded their bodies when Skeppy appeared through the trees, tossing each of them a potion. Tommy's slammed into his chest with a thump, causing him to flinch and glare at Skeppy, who gave him a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, forgot."

Tommy picked up the bottle with his left hand, biting the cork and yanking it off before chugging the bottle. The relief was instant, but he noticed there was still some pain. 

"He only had instant healing, sorry," Skeppy said as he gazed at the three, waving at Zelk, who waved back as he set down his now-empty bottle. Sapnap pulled down the makeshift bandage around his leg, relatively pleased to find a significantly smaller gash remaining. 

Tommy winced as he moved his arm, frowning. "Since you had more injuries that were severe, it'll probably take more potions to heal," Sapnap explained, tossing his empty bottle to the side. 

"Why, what happened to him?" Zelk asked as he rubbed at the drying blood on his face. He picked himself up carefully and stretched.

"Arrows," was Tommy's simple reply. 

"Wow, that's rough. It sounds like you had a run-in with Mega," a voice said from behind the group, causing their heads to whip in the direction. There stood a boy with an elk mask covering his face. He wore a blue striped sweater vest with a white button-up underneath and khakis. There was a small superman symbol embroidered on the left of his chest where a pocket may go, and his hair was more a ginger color than Zelk's dirty blond. "That's good. We've been looking for him."

"We?" Zelk asked, obviously put off by seeing his double. 

"Yep," a voice said, once again behind the group, making them spin around once more. There stood a boy with a brown beaver mask. His hair was neatly combed back as opposed to Spifey's more unruly hair. He, like Zelk, wore a brown sweater vest and a white button-up with khakis. They both held wooden bats. 

"Now, wanna make this fun or simple? Run, and we'll chase, and there's a high probability we'll do more damage than Mega did," Zelk said with a bored tone. 

"Or we can just take you with us, and if you answer our questions unlike the other fakes, most of us will play nice," Spifey finished watching as the four looked at each other. "You're in no condition to run, but by all means, be our guest."

"Fine. We'll go with you," Skeppy grumbled, holding his hands up in defeat. Zelkam sighed in disappointment, shrugging.

"Fine. Let's go."

...

..

.

Techno walked through the woods. The mirror was tucked safely in his belt. He had been traveling back for days now, so he knew he was getting close. Something didn't feel right, though. Techno slowed his pace, blinking in realization as he noticed there was another pair of footsteps matching his own. 

He drew his stone sword and spun around, just barely avoiding cutting the figure behind him. "Took you a while to notice."

"I could have killed you there, Tommy," Techno pointed out, putting his sword back in its sheath as he looked back up at the Mimic. Tommy tilted his head with an unconvinced stare. 

"But, you didn't," he replied with a flat tone. Techno shrugged, his mantle blowing gently in the wind.

"What're you doing here?" he asked, watching the boy blink as though he forgot he had a reason for coming. 

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Two of your friends have been kept here for the past two weeks, and Spifey and Zelk captured four more earlier. Thought you'd want to know so you could help them since you seem to like doing that," Tommy said plainly, before spinning around and walking towards the village. Techno hurried to catch up with him.

"What? Who-?"

"Don't know, didn't care to look. I'm not actually that curious. I just thought it'd help you out. I know that the four are in the upstairs of that building you were in. I don't know about the other two," Tommy explained, spinning around, causing Techno to stop. "Anyway, I'd stop following me now. I don't want to be called a traitor, and you don't want to get caught."

Tommy pointed to the left, Techno's gaze following and realizing how close they were to the village. He nodded and grinned at the boy, waving bye and saying his thanks as he ran back into the woods. 

A new plan was needed if he wanted to get his friends out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! I hope you liked this chapter, it wasn't as interesting as my other ones, sorry :(
> 
> I may be a little slower on updates because I'm going on vacation for a week, but I'll try to keep the consistent schedule going. Thank you so much for reading this chapter!!
> 
> I love you all so much, stay safe, and have a good morning/afternoon/evening/night :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh Oh: The Sequel.

A blink, Sapnap had disappeared in a mere blink. Same with Tommy, and Skeppy, and Zelkam. Dream looked around from where he sat, trying to spot any sign of movement, but everyone seemed frozen where they stood. Dream's gaze lowered to the ground, the shattered mirror lying by Techno's feet. 

It was Techno's fault. Dream rose to his feet shakily, feeling pairs of eyes drilling holes into his back. He didn't care; he couldn't find it in himself to care. He grabbed Techno roughly by his shoulders, a surge of rage influencing his actions, and shoved him into a nearby tree.

"You idiot!" Dream spat the words out, watching as Techno's eyes shifted from the fountain to him, smiling innocently. "You-," Dream struggled to put his thoughts to words, "They're gone, and it's all your fault!" 

"Now that's a little rude," Techno pouted, his eyes never leaving Dream's cracked mask. "This isn't my fault. I had no clue that would happen; the portal is full of uncertainties. Instead, I'd say this is your fault. If you'd have caught the mirror, or protected it better, or even not stage an attack against us, your friends wouldn't be trapped over there." 

Dream didn't think; instead, he just slammed his fist into Techno's face. No one moved to stop him. Techno's head slung to the left, and a small snicker erupted from the king. It made his blood boil as his left hand tightened on his shoulder. Techno raised his head with a sickeningly sweet smile, "It's ok, Dream. I'm sure you're friends will have a good life there. They shouldn't blame you too much-."

Dream's fist cut Techno off. Zoned out in a blind rage, he repeatedly attacked the other. Techno didn't get a moment to defend himself. Dream only snapped out of his attack when someone threw him to the ground. Dream's head snapped up, and he noticed Mega was dragging a collapsed Techno away from him in an attempt to protect him. 

Dream looked at the broken skin on his knuckles and huffed. He didn't realize he did that much damage to the fighter, not that he regretted it. His eyes remained on the receding body, then to Mega. Mega looked at him worriedly, his knuckles white from where he gripped Techno's arms. 

"Please, go home," Mega said hoarsely, his request confusing Dream. Dream shook his head, standing his ground. 

"No, we're getting our friends back. We aren't giving up," he guaranteed, cracking his knuckles. Mega blinked before shaking his head quickly. 

"No- You don't understand-," chilling laughter cut him off. Techno's head snapped up, a wicked grin painted across his lips. He struggled against Mega, who grunted. 

"Let me go, Mega." Techno's voice was demanding and hollow, and his eyes screamed danger. Blood poured out of his nose and mouth, and Dream noticed he had busted his lip. Techno had reddened areas on his cheeks, which were sure to bruise, and his right eye looked a little swollen. Mega shook his head quickly in response, not that Techno saw it. His gaze remained fixated on Dream.

A6D quickly ran over and wrapped his arms around one of Techno's so Mega could do the same on the opposite side. It didn't do much more to restrain the murderous man, but he still struggled to move. A6D looked over to Bad, teeth grit as he held the thrashing king. "Can you help? He's going to kill him if he breaks free; he needs to calm down."

"Nope, this looks interesting," Bad commented, leaning against his sword, which he stuck into the ground. Techno swung his arm back in an attempt to hit Mega but missed.

"Let me go; I won't kill him. I only want to win!" Techno seemed to grow angrier as he stared at Dream, who just watched in confusion at the feral man. Techno turned to A6D's arm wrapped around his forearm and bit down on it. The french man immediately pulled back, yelping in pain. Mega lost his grip the moment Techno's right arm was free, and the king set off in a sprint towards Dream. 

He slowed as a sword impaled a tree in front of him but merely slid under the obstacle, causing a loud curse from Bad. Techno, luckily, ignored the sword he had dropped previously in their fight when he lunged at Dream. However, he still looked like he was ready to murder. Dream immediately blocked the swing directed at his face and hopped back, but Techno recovered instantly from the block and followed his movements, now aiming a high kick at his head. Dream blocked it with his arm and grabbed his leg with a steady hand. 

Dream yanked the leg forward, causing Techno to lose balance. Techno caught himself as he fell and grabbed Dream's ankle. "Can't run if you can't move," he grumbled, slamming his fist into it. Dream yelped in pain, but before Techno could repeat the action, a pair of hands wrapped around his waist, lifting him and tossing him to the side. Bad huffed as he rushed toward Techno. 

George hurried over to Dream's side, who now had trouble standing on his left leg, and quickly wrapped his arm under his shoulder. "We should get out of here-." A loud shout from Bad cut them off and directed their attention towards him.

Techno had disappeared from his place on the ground, and Bad collapsed on one knee. The rest of the group, minus Spifey, who was still unconscious, chased after the copycat, who dodged every attempt with ease. He ran toward Bad and acted as though his back was a ramp, using it as a boost to jump in the air. Before Dream could react, he slammed into the ground with Techno's boots pressing roughly on his arms and his hands gripping the sides of his head and hair tightly. George shouted in protest but couldn't seem to get the boy off. 

"I win." He grinned viciously and began slamming Dream's head against the dirt beneath him. The last thing Dream saw was Techno ripped off of him before George leaned over him, shouting something as he looked at Dream with a worried, sad expression. Dream's vision faded. 

...

..

. 

Skeppy's fist collided with Skeppy's stomach, making the two double over. The only difference between the two was one had piercing red eyes, a dark blue hoodie, a matching face mask with a stitched mouth, and his dark brown hair tipped a deep blue. The other, fastened to a chair, wore clothing more of a cyan color rather than blue. His face mask, which the other Skeppy yanked down, had a tongue sticking out instead, and his eyes were a rich brown, much like his hair. 

"Ow, what the hell," the copy hissed as he clutched his sides. "Who even are you? Do you have some enchantments on your clothes or something?" Skeppy grumbled in frustration at his counterpart's question, rolling his eyes. 

"I'm you, idiot. I've said this thirty times. How many times are you going to punch me until you give up?" Skeppy asked, watching the red-eyed boy glare down at him. 

"Is that a challenge?"

"No!" Skeppy whined, watching in annoyance as the other raised a fist. A hand stopped it before he could continue as Zelk's mask bored holes into fake Skeppy. 

"Don't do that; it's ineffective," Zelk spoke plainly. Skeppy dropped the fist with a grumble of dissatisfaction and scanned the other three. 

"What about them? Can I beat answers out of them?" He cracked his fist as he approached Tommy, who tried to shrink into his chair. A hand tightly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. 

"No, that'd hurt Tommy," the Wilbur look-alike claimed, pulling Skeppy back. Philza walked forward and peered down at Tommy with cold eyes.

"Get some health potions, so they can heal and stop passively injuring us." Wilbur nodded at Philza's command and rushed out the door. Philza knelt to where he was eye-level with the bound Tommy. "You don't look like Tommy appearance-wise. You look like a brat, so who's to say you are Tommy's copy?"

"Well, you look like an idiot," Tommy snapped, ignoring the hissed 'Tommy, shut up' from Sapnap. Philza blinked, his face momentarily contorting to one of surprise, but immediately shifting back to a neutral expression.

"You're bold, kid, or just stupidly oblivious," Philza grunted, rising back up and giving Tommy's shoulder a small squeeze. Tommy yelped as he tried to pull back from the hand. 

"Let go of him," Sapnap demanded, trying to look over from where he sat behind Tommy. The four sat in a small circle, with Tommy facing west, Sapnap north, Skeppy south, and Zelk east. Philza hummed and let the boy's shoulder go, walking towards Sapnap. 

"Say, Dream told us all about how there's a different world with copies of ourselves. I'm guessing I'm not as rude in the other, hm? I'm curious if I torture you enough, will you be frightened of him as much as you'll be of me?" Philza asked cooly, eyes sharp as he stared at him. Sapnap scoffed in response, a small smirk playing on his lips.

"And how happy would my alternate be to being tortured? Our pain's connected," Sapnap pointed out, earning a shrug. Philza gripped Sapnap's hair and yanked it upward, squinting with a dark glint in his eye. 

"It's only your pain that's connected. The damage can also take place here." Philza tapped Sapnap's skull, biting back a smirk as he saw Sapnap flinching from the hand that tugged his hair. He let him go and heard a small thunk before registering that he was accidentally lifting Sapnap off the ground.

"We came here for questions. Can we get back on track?" Spifey asked as he circled the tied up occupants. Zelkam mirrored his actions but went the opposite direction as him. 

"Why are we always the responsible ones?" Zelkam asked, both of them pausing in front of Zelk, who looked up at them in distaste. "What is your world like?"

"And why should I answer?" Zelk asked with an annoyed tone, pulling at the rope which tied his hands behind his back. Spifey and Zelkam looked at each other, then to him. 

"Oh, Zelkam. We know how to get people to talk without harming them," Spifey assured as he tilted his head to the left. 

"As Philza said, psychological damage does wonders," Zelkam added, tilting his head to the right. 

"Don't threaten my friend," Skeppy snapped, looking over his shoulder at him. The two directed their attention towards him and walked over. 

"I've wanted to test this out for a few weeks," Spifey hummed, pulling up his khakis and reaching for a syringe strapped around his ankle. He pulled it out and reached for a vial of black liquid that Zelkam held out to him. "It physically causes no pain, so you should be fine, Skeppy. The test can be a learning experience for not only me but for you four to listen to orders."

Spifey approached Skeppy, who tried to move away from the needle with a worried glare, but Zelkam walked over and held his head still and tilted left. Spifey's fingers traced his throat, stopping at tapping a small point, "I lied, this may hurt a little." He plunged the syringe into Skeppy's neck, earning a loud yelp from both of the two as he pushed the liquid through. 

"What the hell did you put in him?" Sapnap shouted, groaning when Philza's foot collided with his wrapped leg. "Shit-," he muttered, looking over to Tommy and Zelk, who watched with wide eyes. "What is it?"

Spifey finally pulled the needle out of Skeppy's neck, looking down as the point of injection was stained black. The color branched off as it ran up the artery, which connected to further capillaries and veins. Skeppy seemed unaffected at first, aside from the pain in his neck, but the medicine seemed to take effect quickly.

His breathing sped up as he looked around, eyes darting around the room, panicked. "Oh good, it's working," Spifey hummed, earning a thumbs up from Zelkam. "Not seeing any hallucinations, Skeppy?"

"Nope," Skeppy grunted, nodding as he watched his counter with an amused smirk. The other was thrashing in his chair, muttering to himself in a paranoid state and flinching away as Spifey approached him. Spifey grabbed his face gently, examining the distressed boy with a pleased nod. 

"Hallucinations?" Zelk asked, looking at Skeppy with worried eyes. Spifey nodded as he snapped his fingers in front of Skeppy's face with no reply.

"Oh yes, I may have been a little excessive in my dosage," Spifey hummed, frowning. "He may be a little out of it for an hour and distracted for a few days. Do you know what sleep paralysis is? It's when you're conscious but unable to move any muscles before you fall asleep or after you wake up. Some have reported their fears and creatures projected into real life. That's what Skeppy's experiencing, but he never fell asleep. He's living in a nightmare, but he can't scream or run away or wake up."

"You'll let me have some, right, Spifey?" Skeppy asked, walking over and poking Skeppy's cheek, who looked as though he was going to cry. Philza looked around impatiently, strolling to the door. 

"Yeah, if Mega and Bad come back. They helped make this with Zelkam and me."

"Which is why we need answers, how do we get to your world?" Zelkam asked as he leaned over and peered at Zelk. "Or do you want a dosage, too?"

"Where's Wilbur?" Philza muttered to himself, reaching for the doorknob. The door swung open with a loud bang, pushing Philza out of the way. 

"You don't get there," Techno said in a bored tone, walking over to Philza on the ground and kicking him harshly in the skull, successfully knocking him out. Sapnap huffed as his ropes loosened and fell to the ground. 

"I had a plan," he announced, rubbing his wrists. Techno scoffed at the response to his arrival as he flipped his sword in his hand.

"I make a daring entrance to save you, and that's your thanks? Try again," Techno demanded as he dodged out of the way of Skeppy, who charged at him. Sapnap chuckled as he jumped away from Zelkam, who swung a bat that narrowly missed his head. 

"Thank you so much," he said sarcastically, "for ruining my plan to flex the amount of training I've gained from Dream's games." Techno laughed, slamming the back of his sword down on Skeppy's head. The boy dropped to the ground in a crumpled state, while the other whined loudly, breaths harsh and irregular. 

"I don't think I hit him that hard. Are you ok, Skeppy?" Techno called, getting deep breaths in reply.

"Spifey injected him with something that's making him hallucinate and unable to move." Sapnap hissed in pain as he landed on his bad leg and stumbled, bumping into Tommy's chair and quickly catching it before he could topple. "Sorry, Tommy." There wasn't a reply, causing Sapnap to momentarily look at the boy while Techno took on both Spifey and Zelkam. "Tommy?"

Tommy lifted his head and blinked drearily at him, appearing spaced out. Sapnap then noticed the pool of blood seeping through Tommy's sleeve. Philza must've reopened whatever had healed. "Techno- do you have any health potions?" 

"No- why? What's wrong with Tommy? I knocked Wilbur out in the hallway; he had some." Sapnap nodded, not bothering to answer any questions as he rushed out into the hallway, at least, as quickly as he could on an injured leg. On the ground laid only a few health potions, but no Wilbur. Sapnap didn't take the time to worry about it; he just scooped up the few bottles and hurried back to Tommy. 

"Alright, come on, kid. You have to drink this," Sapnap ordered, picking the cap off of a vial as Techno untied Zelk, who rushed to Skeppy's side. He held Tommy's mouth open and poured the red liquid down his throat. The effects were instant, and Tommy blinked as he grew less pale in color. "Here, we've got four. Drink another to heal more. I don't think Skeppy needs it right now."

Tommy nodded and went to lift his hands, but they remained tied to the chair. A quick slice of the sword, and he was free. Tommy quickly began drinking the red potion, not caring how his hands were loose. "What happened to your hand and shoulder?" Techno demanded as he spun his sword with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. Tommy, having not noticed Techno was even in the room, choked on the drink, coughing harshly. 

"Techno?" he asked between coughs, rising from his chair and spinning to face him. "Techno!" Tommy rushed forward and wrapped his hands around the male tightly, shoving his face in his chest and taking him by surprise. Techno nodded and wrapped his arms around the other in return. 

"Yeah, it's me. Geez, it hasn't been that long, getting clingy," Techno joked, ruffling Tommy's hair as he looked down at him. Tommy had begun a small, almost unnoticeable shake as his grip tightened. Techno's heart dropped as he heard a quiet, choked sob come from Tommy. "Oh."

"You suck," Tommy managed to gasp out, but he didn't dare let go. Techno hugged Tommy closer, hand gently holding his head as he nodded.

"Yeah, I know," he muttered as he rubbed circles on his back. "I shouldn't have taken over a month to get back to you, but I'm here now," he assured, feeling Tommy nod against his chest. 

"You're not allowed to leave alone anymore," Tommy muttered as he rubbed harshly at his eyes with his left hand. Techno nodded with a small grin. 

"I don't plan on leaving anytime soon, anyway. I'll take Wilbur with me on my next adventure, though, or maybe Sapnap." Techno watched with amusement as Tommy pulled his head back with a disgusted look.

"Those guys suck. Take me, jerk," he huffed, once again wiping his eyes with his fist. Techno chuckled as Sapnap rolled his eyes from behind Tommy, but nodded.

"I know, nerd. I'll take you, I guess." Techno looked over at Zelkam, who held a seemingly unconscious Skeppy on his back. "Is he ok?"

"Maybe? We'll have to see in a few hours; I think he passed out," Zelkam said with a grin. "I guess it's good to have you back." Zelkam took the potion of healing Sapnap offered him and chugged it, tossing the empty bottle aside as he sighed. "Feels good."

"So, what happened to you guys?" Techno asked as he cracked his knuckles, the dangerous look returning to his eyes. 

"Nothing that healing potions can't solve. I was shot in my leg, and Tommy was shot in his hand and shoulder by Mega. Bad beat the hell out of Zelkam," Sapnap explained, stretching as he threw his empty bottle aside. He pulled the sleeve around his leg up and smirked at the healed skin. "See, all good."

"Good, what about you, Zelkam?" Techno asked, placing his sword in his sheath.

"A-ok," Zelkam replied as he gestured to his uninjured face, coated in old dried blood. 

"Tommy?" he questioned, turning to the blond who stared at his hand. "What's wrong? Does it hurt still?"

"I- no, it doesn't hurt," he muttered as he unwrapped his hand. "I just hope it scars- dang it!" The three around him chuckled at his disappointment, and he shot a glare at each of them. Especially Techno. "You're not forgiven yet, so don't push your luck. Get on your knees and beg to me, but make sure you call me an alpha male."

"Shut up, nerd," Techno hummed in amusement, ruffling his hair. "We should get going- where'd Philza's body go?" Techno asked as he spun around and stared at the now-empty floor. 

"Oh, Wilbur's body was gone too!" Sapnap exclaimed as he slapped his head in realization. The others examined the room and found that only the two bodies had disappeared.

Techno's hand quickly went to his sword, and he looked at the door warily. As he crept toward the entry, a head popped through, giving a weak wave. Techno managed to stop himself before swinging at the boy, instead, putting up his sword as the others shout in alarm. "Oh, hey, Tommy. What're you doing?"

Tommy's Mimic shyly walked into the room, Philza sprawled loosely on his back. "Nothin' just getting my friends," Tommy muttered, seemingly bothered by the number of people in the room. Techno didn't seem to notice, though, and nodded. "Your friends are in the Scream Team's house-."

"Scream Team?" Sapnap asked in confusion, tilting his head as Tommy sharply nodded. "Sounds like the edgy version of the Dream Team."

"It is." Tommy shrugged Philza up his back, slightly leaning under his weight. "They aren't really known as good guys," he muttered. 

"Is anyone here? I'm starting to see why Techno switched worlds," Tommy quipped, earning a hard smack on his head. 

"Ow," the two muttered in unison, causing Techno to blink in realization.

"Oh- sorry, Tommy, not you, Tommy. Don't be rude," Techno scolded, Tommy merely grumbled in response. 

Mimic Tommy shrugged, once again heaving Philza up. "It's true, though, haven't you read the book?" Techno nodded, pulling it off of his belt and holding it up. 

"Every page, but what do you mean?" Techno asked as he flipped through it. "Are you talking about-?"

"Page forty-seven, third paragraph, sixth sentence. It is a common belief that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Thus, the same principle should apply to every mien and perspective. Yin and Yang, Good and Bad, one mustn't be without the other. All things in life are balanced, and so two worlds establish. One whose persons and morals derive from light, the other's morals and beliefs descend in darkness. And with their coexistence, the universe was balanced," Tommy recited plainly, as though he'd repeated the phrase multiple times. The four stared at him with wide eyes, making him shrink away when he realized.

"Why'd you have that memorized?" Tommy asked, hearing a loud sigh from Techno.

"Why are you so nosy?" Techno asked, holding his face in his hands. Tommy shrugged and looked at his Mimic expectantly. 

"I was wondering why Techno was so invested in your world and wanted to leave so badly. It was the closest reason I could find, and I read it so much it just stuck," Tommy murmured, gripping tightly on Philza's arm, but his face held the same blank look. He grunted, setting Philza down, then lifting him again for a better grip. "I have to take him home. I'm sorry you guys had to deal with these idiots, and I hope you get back home safe," Tommy called as he turned to the door. 

"Tommy," Techno called, gaining the dirty blond's attention. "I don't think you're a bad guy." Tommy looked at Techno with widened eyes but smiled lightly. 

"You don't know me that well, then. Bye, Techno, get home safe," Tommy hummed before disappearing out of the room. The four stood there for a moment before Techno spun around with a nod. 

"Alright, let's get our friends back and get home." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Sorry this took a little longer than expected, I got 2,000 words into it, then deleted it and started over because it sucked,, whoops. Anyways, hope you liked this chapter!! I’m a sucker for angst,, I apologize. 
> 
> Anyways, thank you all for reading!!! We’ve got two chapters left :)
> 
> I hope you liked it and I’ll see you soon! I love you all, stay safe, good morning/afternoon/evening/night <3 :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream team lore and Techno makes progress.

Surrounded by black, his body felt as though it were floating in an endless void. It remained like this for only a moment, though, as constant pulses of pain ran through his head and ground him to reality. The first thing he noticed, aside from the throbbing in the back of his mind, was the hushed murmurs throughout the room. Confusion immediately flooded him, who was in the bedroom with him? He used all of his strength to open an eye, but it was only momentary as the light was too blinding to bear. His brief consciousness gained him plenty of attention, though. 

"Dream! You're awake-," Dream heard George point out. He only grunted in acknowledgment, lifting his hand in a weak thumbs up. Why'd his body hurt so much? How late did he sleep? He tried to verbalize all of his questions but could only manage a simple phrase.

"What's up?" He managed to peek an eye open and identified the five people in the room with him. Wilbur and Philza stood in the corner of the room, the duo looked quite distressed and stared at him with worried eyes. Spifey sat against the wall and was giving him a vacant stare. The only emotions Dream could make out on his face were faint traces of confusion and concern. Bad seemed to be surveying him with a knowing look, fake Bad, and lounged against the door frame. George stood over him, his eyes looked almost red, but Dream couldn't be sure. 

"Dream, don't you remember?" George asked, distress seeping into each word. Dream felt a pit in his stomach; something seemed wrong. No, something was wrong, everyone was in his room with worried expressions, he had a killer headache, and he felt dizzy. He lifted his hands to his face to rub his eyes, then froze. 

"Where's my mask," he demanded, his arms quick to cover the rest of his face. It was ineffective, and Dream knew that everyone was already there. Everyone already knew what he looked like despite his feeble attempt to cover up. He heard George swallow, and a hand pats his arms covering his face.

"It broke in the fight, remember?" George asked, a doubtful edge in his voice. Dream shifted to where his arms no longer covered his upper face, and instead, his hands took that position. 

"No, what fight?" He heard footsteps approach, and George shifted off of the bed. He peeked an eye open from behind his hands, blinking at Bad in confusion. Bad merely rolled his eyes and pried at Dream's hands, who immediately began resisting. 

"Come on, Dream. We've already seen your face, give it up. I've got to give you a check-up," Bad hissed, managing to pry his hands off. Dream squeezed his eyes shut. 

Dream felt his heart pound in his chest, and he felt as though he was drowning. "Where's Sapnap?" he choked out in a small voice, but there was no response. They knew. They had to know. He heard shouts of protests from around him, specifically between George and Bad, but other voices had chimed in, blending into the white noise in the back of Dream's mind. 

"Dream, what's wrong? Please tell us; we're here to help. You can trust us, remember?" George reassured in a worried voice, shoving Bad off of Dream. Dream's hands tugged at his hair instead of reaching to mask his face. 

"You're going to turn me in-, please don't turn me in," Dream begged, his green eyes wide with fear as he stared down at the bedding. George stared at Dream in mild confusion, blinking at his outburst.

"I- I meant medically, but I- what?" Wilbur stepped forward, eyebrows furrowed in confusion before realization replaced it. 

"Clay?" Wilbur asked, watching Dream's eyes snap to him, giving him all the confirmation he needed.

"How'd you know his name- I thought he only ever told Sapnap and me," George muttered, scratching his head as he looked at Wilbur. Wilbur laughed nervously and shrugged.

"I know a lot of useless facts, a lot about criminals and whales. I'm a dirty little crime boy, I'm a crime fanatic," Wilbur attempted at a joke with a small dry chuckle. Wilbur turned his attention back to Dream with a weak smile, meeting his panicked gaze. "The public accused you of killing everyone in your family. There were no culprits aside from you, your family was relatively reclused, and most importantly, you ran. The search went pretty far, and there was a good reward for a fourteen-year-old, green-eyed, brown-haired male."

"I didn't do it- I swear, oh God. Please don't turn me in- ask Sapnap-," Dream began earning a reassuring pat on his shoulder. 

"We know you didn't, don't worry. No one in this village is going to give you up, right?" Various nods came from around the room, but Bad merely glared. George huffed but redirected his attention to Dream who appeared more calm than prior. "We have to get you checked up by Bad's Mimic soon, though, so we can assess your injuries."

"Injuries?" Dream asked in confusion as Bad took his place in front of Dream. He seemed thoroughly annoyed but managed to keep a controlled face. 

"Follow my finger," Bad commanded, Dream nodded and did as instructed. "Dilated pupils. As I expected, you have a concussion. That explains the memory issues, the paranoid mood change, and the headache I'm sure you have," Bad explained, pushing himself up with a grunt. He walked to the door, pushing it open. 

  
"So, what do we do about it?" Philza asked, stepping forward to follow the male. Bad immediately stopped him with a hesitant stare.

"You stay here or go home for all I care. I will go to my house and get health potions. You'll still need rest to recover, but it should speed up the process," Bad said, spinning to look at Dream. Philza blinked in confusion.

"I'll come with you-."

"No," Bad responded immediately, turning towards Philza.

"How do we know you won't poison it?" Spifey added bitterly. The group looked at the male who glared at Bad, obviously holding some resentment after the fight. Bad scoffed at his question, glaring at him.

"I would if I could. Trust me, but your highness wanted our little kerfuffle to have no long term damage, so sadly, I cannot leave you two to die. You saw what Techno did to him. I'd hate to be on the receiving end," Bad laughed bitterly, gesturing to Dream who looked lost. "I can carry two or three potions on my own. Don't follow me." 

The group watched as Bad disappeared out the door before directing their attention back to Dream. "What?" Dream blinked at the expectant stares he was receiving.

"Dream, you've been the biggest mystery in this group by far. Sapnap and I told everyone at least a little about our past, but you never said a thing. Now we're finding out you're a suspected criminal-."

"I didn't do anything!" Dream quickly said, shooting up in his bed as he looked at George with wide eyes. George held his hands up in defeat and nodded. 

"Yea, I know- we know. I just want to know what happened." Dream pulled at the bedsheets with a furrowed expression, green eyes avoiding everyone's gaze. 

"Nick and I met before the incident. A couple of years before, actually, he was eleven, I was twelve. Nick's dad was the only one taking care of him, and the guy wasn't the best. He'd come home drunk a lot, and so Nick usually snuck out and came to our house for meals and to sleep over," Dream explained, rubbing his head with a wince. George seemed to have already known this, while to everyone else, this was news. 

"His dad didn't like my parents, but the same goes for my parents. One night his dad got too drunk, I guess, and was pissed at Nick because he came over. He picked up an ax from my family's shed and- well. I guess you can assume the rest," Dream laughed dryly. The rest stood in silence, not a single word spoken. "We ran away. No one really knew of Nick's existence besides me; he was stuck in that home most of his life until he met me. Besides, his dad worked in another town, so no one in my town knew of him or his dad. I was the main suspect for the murder because Nick and I escaped his dad. I looked suspicious, fleeing from the scene. Nick and I agreed to give each other nicknames, Sapnap and Dream, and then-."

"Then you guys met me a year later," George finished with a small smile. Dream nodded, a grin replacing his somber look. 

"George was in an isolated situation like Sapnap, but he was quite literally in the middle of nowhere. We snuck him out, and since we're so undeniably cool, he stuck with us," Dream explained with a nod. A few chuckles filled the room, killing the tense atmosphere. 

"What a cute story. Drink up, so you don't die," Bad said, walking into the room and tossing Dream and Spifey a bottle filled with a pink potion. "These are my good ones and some of the last of my supply. Don't waste a single drop."

Dream chugged the liquid, watching as Spifey mirrored his actions. "Anyways, no one has answered my question. Where is Sapnap?" And with that, the tense atmosphere returned. 

...

..

.

"You four go back to the portal, and I'll go get Mega, A6D, and Bad," Techno ordered as the group approached the Scream Team's home. Sapnap and Tommy's heads snapped to Techno with a shared look of betrayal.

"Nope-."

"No way-!" The two answered in unison. Techno paused midstep and looked at them with confusion, then to Zelkam, who shrugged as best he could with Skeppy unconscious on his back. 

"I don't know, dude, but if they're not going, neither am I. I don't want to have to defend Skeppy solo," Zelk explained, tilting his head back as a gesture towards the unconscious boy. Techno sighed and looked back to Tommy and Sapnap for an explanation.

"There is no way I'm letting you go off alone again," Tommy demanded in a stern voice, puffing his cheeks in frustration. "Last time that happened, you disappeared for more than a month."

"Was it really that long?" Techno murmured to himself, shifting on his heels nervously. "Whoops. I suppose you can stay, but don't get in my way. Sapnap, go with Zelk to the portal. He needs help protecting Skeppy." Sapnap made a noise of protest as Techno began turning back, causing him to spin towards the male once more. 

"That's not fair-."

"Huh?"

"Zelk got to see his double-." Sapnap began, but Techno cut him off. 

"Mimic."

"Mimic? Oh- right. Anyway, Skeppy got to meet his Mimic, Tommy got to meet his Mimic, you will meet your Mimic at some point if you haven't already, why can't I meet mine?" Sapnap complained, watching Techno's confused face morph into one of astonishment.

"You aren't staying to profess undying dedication to me like Tommy?" Techno asked, Tommy scoffing loudly beside him. Sapnap shrugged sheepishly.

"Come on! You've got to understand, I can confess my undying dedication to you any day, but can I see the complete opposite of my best friends any day? I think not. I've seen everyone but my team specifically, they're going to be so pissed with me if I can describe how everyone else looked and acted beside them," Sapnap ranted, shoving his hands in his pants pockets with an exasperated look. Techno sighed, turning back towards the house and ascending the steps.

"Fine, but when we start fighting, you get out. The closer you are to your Mimic, the more connected you are, mainly pain wise. You too, Zelk. You bring Skeppy and Sapnap back to the portal. And Tommy-."

"I know, I know, don't get in the way," Tommy interjected, holding his hands up in defense. Techno nodded before pushing the Scream Team's door open.

"Stay unnoticed and quiet," Techno muttered through his teeth as he approached an open door that led to a descending stairwell. Voices resonated from the bottom, and Techno motioned the group to follow.

"I don't see why we have to wait down here all the time; they haven't said a thing," a voice hissed in a low grumble. A pair of footsteps grew louder as they approached the stairs blocked from the team due to the wall concealing them, before leading into a hall, but they quickly changed direction and faded further. 

"Because, George, it was our assignment. We have to keep a lookout in case that fake shows up to rescue the other fakes. Stop complaining," Sapnap grumbled, the footsteps pausing while he talked before continuing once more. 

"It's not that bad, George," a small voice assured, a grunt followed in response. "You're still mad."

"Guys."

"Of fucking course I am. You were going to run off to a new world without permission from me. What, do you not like us anymore, Dream?" George snapped back. 

"Guys."

"No- that's not it! I was just scared Techno would get mad and-."

"And what? Hurt you? I thought you trusted us more than that; you're mine- ours to protect after all, but no. I guess I was wrong. You don't like us anymore," George accused, Dream shrank back at his accusation and shook his head quickly. 

"No- I do like you guys! You're my best friends- please, I'm sorry," Dream pleaded, rubbing his hands nervously. George stared down at the boy with an unsure expression. 

"So, you'll listen to us from now on and come to us for issues?" George asked though it was more of a demand. Dream nodded quickly, opening his mouth to give a verbal reply, but Sapnap was quick to cut in.

"Guys!" he barked, gaining their attention. "I am so thrilled you have once again gained George's favor, Dream, and you once again put a leash on Dream, George. Honestly, I am," the sarcasm in his voice betrayed his claim. "But if you could, I would appreciate your help with the intruder."

Techno muttered a curse under his breath before gesturing Sapnap and Zelk to go, and Tommy to stay put. He took a step out into the hall, three pairs of eyes immediately on him. "Was I that obvious?" Their eyes were no longer on him but behind him. He groaned and tilted his head back. "Am I horrible at sign language, or are you deaf- er, blind?"

Sapnap shrugged while Tommy stood beside him with a small grin. "I closed my eyes, so I have no clue what you even gestured me to do," Sapnap claimed, strolling forward to take in his and his friend's counterparts.

Mimic Sapnap wore a black button-up and matching black slacks. Strapped to the pants were white suspenders, and a white tie accented the shirt. Instead of the messy hair tied with a bandana, the copy's hair appeared neatly combed back. The Mimic's overall formal appearance contrasted greatly with Sapnap's. The most significant difference, however, was the eyes. As opposed to Sapnap's deep brown eyes, his opposite had amber eyes that vaguely resembled molten gold.

George's Mimic didn't sport his opposite's signature glasses. Instead, a black baseball cap with a white underside sat upon his hair. George's shirt was an excessively baggy blue tee, and a white painted dog tag with red borders hung around his neck. He wore bluish-grey skinny jeans with multiple rips in them, and his converse looked thoroughly worn. The most defining difference was while his George had brown hair, the Mimic's hair was pitch black. 

Dream seemed the most different, though it wasn't in appearance. Dream's outfit consisted of a light lime sweater with black shorts. Under the shorts, bandages wrapped his legs until they disappeared behind his ankle socks and black tennis shoes. Band-aids littered his hands, a few finding their place on his face. That was the lower half of his face. His upper half was covered by a mask, much like his Dream. As opposed to the white with a black smiley face, however, Dream's Mimic's mask was black with a white frowny face. The boy seemed to be smaller than his Dream and scrawnier. The distinct conspicuous difference came with the boy's attitude.

Dream always had an air of confidence and a cocky attitude, especially around friends. This Dream seemed to cower away at any form of contact, and there was no self-confidence visible. Sapnap looked back to his Mimic, who eyed him with a stern gaze.

"Your appearance disgusts me. I can see why you're my fake," the copycat grumbled, voice cold. Sapnap shrugged in response and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"That's fair," he hummed with an easy-going smile. "You look like you've got a stick shoved too far up your-."

"Ok, you've met him. Can you go now?" Techno interjected, Sapnap turning his head and blinking at him in confusion.

"What? But I just got here. I haven't even gotten to ask him his favorite food," Sapnap complained, looking back at his opposite, who had gotten into a fighting position. Techno did the same.

"It's the same as yours; you're the same person. Please go, I don't need you getting hurt. Dream will kill me. Besides, I'm sure Zelk will want some help protecting Skeppy," Techno huffed, drawing his sword. A small 'yeah, come on,' came from the stairwell, and Sapnap sighed. 

"Alright, come on, Tommy." Sapnap grabbed Tommy's arm and began pulling him toward the staircase.

"What-? I'm staying! Techno said it's fine," Tommy quickly said, pulling against Sapnap. Sapnap didn't loosen on his pull, though. 

"Yeah, I know, and you are. Techno also said to stay out of the way, though. So, sit on the stairwell like a good kid," Sapnap ordered as he disappeared behind the stairs. Techno watched the two retreat with a nod.

"Kids, am I right- whoa!" Techno quickly sidestepped from Sapnap's charge, bringing his knee up and shoving him into it. Before he could do any more damage, George had taken a swing at him with an ax. "Rude," he grunted as he ducked. 

"Just sit back, Dream, not much you can do to help," George called to Dream, who stood in front of the door with a tremble. Techno grabbed George's ankle from where he had squatted and yanked it hard, causing the other to lose balance and collapse on his back. 

Once again, before he could attack, he narrowly dodged a swing from Sapnap, who was wielding a long staff. Techno had jumped up to avoid it, landing on the actual stick with ease. The weight on the end of it had caused Sapnap to stumble forward, but he was quick to recover. Techno had used the momentum gained from landing and jumping off the staff to aim his kick on George's wrist, causing the boy to drop the ax he held with a shout. 

Sapnap had swung his metal stick at Techno the second he landed, catching the other off guard. Luckily, he had enough time to roll out of the way to avoid being narrowly hit. The fight was a lot more challenging than it should be. He needed to speed this up. Techno twisted out of the way as the staff was jabbed at him, grabbing the other end as he spun with all his strength. As he rotated with the pole, he caused Sapnap to become off-balance and threw him across the hall. Sapnap hit the wall with a thud, but he quickly stood up. There was a new stagger to his step.

He ducked just as he turned, George's fist only connecting with a few hairs. He took the pole he held and slammed it into George's stomach, causing him to stumble back in a fit of coughs. George sunk to his knees as he coughed, blood splattering onto his hand. "Fuck," he managed out between coughs.

"Fuck is an accurate reaction," Techno hummed, swinging the staff onto George's head. George dropped limply to the floor. Sapnap no longer stood a chance. Techno jumped back from his feeble swing, a small pang of pity at how easy this was. "Sorry about this," he muttered, slamming the metal into his head. The Mimic crumpled to the floor, much like George had.

Techno spun around, looking at Dream who, aside from his tremble, was otherwise motionless. He stared at the boy with blank eyes, blocking his pity. "Look, just let me in the room, and let me leave with my friends, and I won't hurt you," Techno promised, closing his eyes with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. He opened his eyes, and the boy was gone. "That was easy-." A fist collided with his back.

"You hurt my friends," a dark voice growled from behind him as he stumbled forward. He spun around, but Dream was once again gone. He surveyed the room before falling on his back. Before he could even comprehend that Dream had tripped him, the boy was on his chest, slamming his fists ruthlessly into his face. Techno managed to block a majority of the hits. That was until a pair of teeth clamped down onto his arm. 

Techno hissed as a sharp sting developed on his arm, and he threw his arm to the floor, bringing Dream with it. Dream's head connected with the wood, and with a sharp gasp of pain, Techno was free. Techno looked at his bandaged arm, none of the bandages tore, but blood still seeped through the white. Techno looked back to where Dream had laid in pain, but the boy was gone. "Not again," he groaned, picking himself up in a readied stance. 

A second later, he was swatting at his back as Dream clung to it, nails digging sharply into his back, legs slamming into his. Techno yelped, trying his best to get the boy from his back. Nothing seemed to work, even slamming him into the wall had no effect. Dream, meanwhile, was doing a number on Techno. His grip had slowly raised to his hair, and it felt as though he were yanking chunks out. The boy was also sinking his teeth into Techno's shoulder. Luckily the clothing lessened the damage.

Suddenly, with a small thud, the pain stopped. Techno huffed, gripping his head as he spun around. On the ground, Dream laid in a crumpled pile, Tommy beside him with the metal staff in his hand. "I'll take my thanks in the form of endless dedication."

"Always had it, kid," Techno said with a weary grin, watching Tommy's smug face morph into one of shock, then a small smile. 

"I'm glad someone values friendship and loyalty," Tommy huffed as he pressed a button. The staff collapsed into a smaller stick, and he pocketed it with a grin. Techno just gave him a confused look as he stood up and walked to the door.

"What do you mean?" Techno asked, Tommy just shrugged. 

"I dunno. I just feel like some of our friends don't have enough faith in me. No one believed me when I told them you were in trouble," Tommy confessed, hands shoved in his pockets as he stared at Techno, who had begun to pick the lock. Techno faltered for a second, before continuing once more. 

"They didn't believe you?" His voice wavered, betraying him, but Tommy didn't mention it. Tommy didn't notice.

"I told them that the Techno up there wasn't you, but they played it off as an accident. Dream was the only one who even tried to sympathize with me. He's the one who figured out everything and convinced everyone. Then we got in a fight with the Mimics when we came to retrieve you guys, and Techno broke the mirror. That's when we got stuck here. Fog surrounded the fountain where we were, then poof. We were here," Tommy explained, but Techno wasn't too focused on his story. He blinked as he stared at the lock, swallowing dryly.

"No one noticed but you and Dream," he muttered, catching Tommy's attention. Tommy blinked in alarm, hurrying forward. "I- do they even want me back?" Techno asked himself with a small frown.

"Hey- of course, they do," Tommy reassured quickly, patting his back. "They better. If not, they'll have to face my wrath. Besides, everyone hates your Mimic; we much prefer you. We were coming on a rescue mission for you, after all." Techno looked to Tommy warily, but nodded and forced a smile.

"Yeah, thanks, Tommy." Tommy frowned at Techno's reply and knelt where he was crouched and picking at the door. Tommy swung an arm across Techno's back and offered him a smile.

"Listen, the reason they didn't accept that you were different was because they were scared. Our friends didn't know how to help if my theory was right, and they didn't want to risk losing you. That's why they were so quick to trust Dream. He came to them with evidence and a plan, a guarantee to get you back. I didn't have that guarantee they wanted, so it wasn't because they don't like you. It's because they don't like the idea of losing you. At least that's what I think," Tommy explained, watching Techno drop his phony smile as a real one quickly replaced it. 

"Wow, that was actually comforting and well thought out. Are you sure you're Tommy?" Techno joked as he returned to pick the lock. Tommy rolled his eyes and withdrew his hand. 

"I've just had a while to think about why they wouldn't trust me and instead trusted Dream," Tommy claimed, hearing a small click from the lock. 

"It's because you're a brat," Techno hummed as he opened the door and stepped into the dark room. "Shit, you two look terrible. Tommy, go get some food from their kitchen," Techno ordered as he approached the two bound to the chair. Mega and A6D both had their fair share of injuries, ranging from cuts to bruises. Techno quickly untied them, and they both stumbled to stand up. Techno caught the two and sat them back down. 

"Wait for a second; there's no rush," Techno assured as he looked back expectantly. Tommy came rushing down a moment later with handfuls of food and bottles of water. A6D quickly grabbed the water and chugged it, coughing harshly after drinking too fast. Tommy patted A6D's back while Mega quickly bit into some bread. 

"God, it took you guys long enough," A6D rasped out, rubbing his wrists. "That was shit." Techno nodded in understanding, handing him some food which he gratefully took.

"I didn't know you guys were here. Sorry," he explained, offering Mega a hand as he tried to stand. Mega took it and stumbled, wincing due to his fallow. Techno took it slow as Mega got used to walking, leading him to the door. "Good news is that Zelk, Skeppy, and Sapnap are waiting at the portal for us," he explained, smiling as Mega seemed to grow more at ease with walking. Tommy began doing the same with A6D, but his process included a lot more cursing. 

"Where's Bad?" Tommy asked, looking around the room. Techno blinked and looked at Mega, who shook his head 'no.'

"Your Mimic said there were only two people down here, and mentioned your group. If Bad wasn't with you, and he wasn't down here, he must not be here," Techno muttered, shrugging.

"How do you know you can trust him?" Tommy asked while he and A6D followed Techno and Mega out of the room. 

"He's helped me quite a bit, unlike you," Techno teased, hearing Tommy scoff from behind him as they slowly made their way up the stairs.

"I'm helping right now! I could drop A6D-."

"Don't you fucking dare," A6D grumbled, earning a snicker from Tommy and Techno. 

"Let's just focus on getting home. Bad has to be there; we'll find him. Maybe we can find some clues in his house and get some healing potions there for me and these two," Techno offered, earning a chorus of agreement from the three. 

It took about thirty minutes for the group to get to the portal. By the time they arrived, Mega and A6D could manage to walk with hardly any stumbling. 

Zelk's head shot up at the sound of noise, but his shoulders sunk in relief when he saw Techno wave from the treeline. He pushed himself up, patting Skeppy comfortingly on his head as the boy's eyes flickered over to the movement. Skeppy had woken about ten minutes before, and while he was still obviously panicked, he was able to form short phrases and basic movements. 

Zelkam spotted a familiar face behind Techno and took off in a sprint, engulfing Mega in a hug. Mega, for once, didn't fight the action. He patted the other's back, a small smile playing at his lips until Zelk broke away. Zelk grinned brightly, looking down at the boy who seemed skinnier than before. "I'm so glad you're back, the other Mega started to scare the shit out of me," Zelk explained, watching Mega stare at him in confusion. "He spoke."

Mega frowned, digging in his pocket but frowning when he didn't find his notepad. He huffed and pointed at his lips, then made a thumbs up. Zelkam furrowed his eyes in confusion before blinking. "Oh! Isn't speaking good? It isn't bad, but I'm more used to your silence. It has a sort of charm," Zelkam explained, tapping his chin. Mega huffed at his answers and rolled his eyes. He held up his hand in a stop motion, before drawing a question mark in the air.

"Stop asking? No can do, I like to annoy you," Zelk cooed, a grin painting his face as Mega slightly shoved him. A6D stared at them with confusion, shrugging.

"I have no clue how you understood any of that. Anyway, what's up with Skeppy?" he asked, pointing at the hunched figure, who Sapnap currently sat by, patting his back.

"An asshole. I'll explain later. Come on, I want to get home." Zelkam looked at Techno, who stood next to Tommy, nodding at him as he began towards Sapnap. The group followed after him, stopping at the base of the fountain. 

"Here's the plan. It's getting dark here, so it's the same over there. We can't go to our home to cause suspicion, so we're going to camp out in the woods," Techno explained, the group staring at him with murmurs of agreement. "We can take turns on mob watching duty. I'll get the first shift unless anyone else wants it." There were no objections, and Techno nodded. Techno pulled the mirror off of his belt and looked at it with a tired expression. "Alright, jump into the fountain, kids."

...

..

.

Techno stared up at the sky as he watched the others sleep. His shift was up a while ago, but he couldn't sleep, so he just let the others. Tommy's notebook sat by his feet. He was showing Techno his theories and how he figured everything out earlier in the night. Techno explained that the reason no one believed him was that his speculations and evidence all sucked. 

Tommy had denied this, but Techno assured him that if he turned his hypothesis into a paper and turned it in, he'd get a C. Tommy claimed that a C was passing, and so his case was valid. 

Techno smiled down at the notebook fondly, picking it up with a sigh. He was almost back to normalcy. He was almost back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH BOY MY SCHEDULE TOOK A TUMBLE DOWN A HILL!! I'm so sorry this took so long, hopefully the 5,000 words makes up for it :). I'm off vacation now, and the last day was horrid and caused it to be extended two days, so that was wild. Anyways, I'm back, and my schedule should pretty much be back to normal! I only have a chapter left anyways,, unless?? 
> 
> Anyways, this is updated earlier than I usually update it, sorry :) idk if the ending was too rushed, my sister says it wasn't but shes committed too many war crimes to be trusted. Also, I'm going to put this on Wattpad!! It's under the same username as here.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!! I love you all so much!! Stay safe and have a good morning/afternoon/evening/night!! :))


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno takes back his home.

Techno's always been a light sleeper; it's one of the things that kept him safe when he was on his own. With this in mind, it wasn't a surprise that mere twig snapping had woken him to an alerted state. 

Techno shot forward from where he laid against a tree, eyes scanning his surroundings for any disturbances. Everyone in the group was resting, understandable due to the early morning and the events they had gone through. Techno rose and quickly took off his black mantle, draping it over Tommy like a blanket. The morning air was chilly. Techno tightly gripped his sword that sat in its sheath as he walked in the direction he heard the noise. A patter of footsteps had resonated through the trees. They came from a little to Techno's east, where the portal was. 

As quietly as he could, Techno made his way to the disturbance. He had gotten to the border of the trees before freezing. There he was, searching the area for something. He blinked in surprise before warily calling out. 

"Philza?" The blond spun towards him, a look of alarm painted on his face. Anger, no, hatred quickly replaced the shock. The look made Techno mentally flinch away. "What-?"

"Can you fuck off for a single moment?" Techno never heard Philza so upset. He swallowed dryly, opening his mouth to say something, but Philza cut him off. "You're a heartless, selfish piece of shit, you know?"

Philza stomped towards Techno as he spoke, the hatred in his eyes sent a shiver down his spine. Philza was terrifying when he was angry. "You tore my fucking family apart. I don't care how much you look like Techno. Bring back my family and friends, or I'll kill you."

"Philza-."

"Tommy is going to be torn apart if your world is even half as fucked as you and your friends are. And you'll have hell to pay if he comes back with even a scratch."

"Philza-."

"And yeah- I know, it's a death wish to fight any copy of Techno. I mean- look at what you did to Dream!" Philza chuckled bitterly, his voice rising as he jabbed a finger into Techno's chest. 

"What did he do to-?"

"But if you don't get my friends and family back, I will. And I'll have Techno beat the shit out of you-."

"Whoa, Philza is picking a fight?" Philza and Techno's heads snapped to the left, where the voice had called out.

"Tommy?" Philza asked in shock, letting his arms drop as he stared at the blond. Tommy rubbed his eyes and stretched as he walked over, Techno's black cape tied around him and dragging slightly in the grass and leaves. The second he was close enough, Philza engulfed him in a hug. "Oh god- I was worried you died-."

"No way, I was the one to save everyone and get us out," Tommy lied, patting Philza on the back with a faint smile. Techno scoffed, still slightly shaken from how close Philza was to punching him. Philza released Tommy and spun around to face him. Techno thought Philza was actually going to hit him for a moment, but instead, Philza wrapped him in his arms and held him close. 

"Oh, God, Techno. You're actually back- I'm so sorry! I wasn't angry at you, I swear, I'm so happy you're safe," Philza pulled away and smiled at him weakly. "I forgot you aren't a fan of hugs-." Techno cut him off by yanking him into the hug with a small laugh. 

"I think I've grown more fond of them lately. Nice to see you, too, Philza," Techno grinned at the slightly shorter male, who returned the smile, then looked to Tommy.

"Thanks for saving him. I know you didn't want to," Philza joked, ruffling Tommy's bedhead. Tommy swatted at his hand with a loud gasp, staring at Philza with an offended look. 

"Yeah, I debated just leaving him and the others. Techno works alone, you know, but I let them tag along," Techno explained, pulling out the mirror and twirling it in his hands with a small smirk. 

"You two are horrible-."

"You got the mirror fixed! I thought Techno broke it, and that's what sent everyone to the other world-." Philza muttered, looking at the mirror curiously, Tommy's complaint overlooked. Techno shrugged.

"Stop ignoring me-."

"They had one on the other side; my Mimic never found it though," Techno explained, putting the mirror in his belt. "Let's go back to the others and talk; we're too in the open." Philza nodded and followed Techno as he began back towards the group. Tommy rushed forward with an annoyed groan.

"I hate you both."

"Oh no, whatever will I do?" Techno said blankly, earning a laugh from Philza. Tommy opened his mouth to complain, but Techno cut him off. "Here we are, casa de- uh- escapees," Techno called, gesturing to the group, who stirred at his announcement. A6D groaned loudly and rolled over. 

"Let us sleep, we just escaped prison, thanks," he complained, but Techno didn't seem to care. He nudged Sapnap with his foot, watching him peek a tired eye open. He seemed satisfied with his newfound awakening and moved to Zelk, repeating the process. Tommy seemed to catch on and started shaking Sapnap, who had closed his eyes once more.

"Wakey wakey," Techno sang as he got to Mega. Mega's eyes snapped open and grabbed his boot before he could even nudge him. He quickly pulled his foot back as the boy sat up, stretching, and walked over to Skeppy. "How are you today?"

Skeppy looked at him with a small smile, but his eyes kept trailing behind him. There were only trees. "Good, great, where's Mega and A6D and Zelk?" Techno pointed to the three, which seemed to ease him slightly. "What about Bad?"

"He's-," Techno paused, trying to think of the right word. A6D walked over sleepily and sat beside Skeppy. 

"Bad's fine. You know him, he's too sweet and persistent to be in trouble. We'll find him," A6D tiredly reassured, patting Skeppy's shoulder as the boy gave him a sharp nod and muttered in agreement. Philza walked over to Techno with a frown.

"You haven't found Bad?" Techno shook his head as he led him away from the two seated. 

"Nope. I think he's over here, though-."

"Yeah, me too," Philza agreed, nodding as the two walked. Techno stopped and gave Philza a confused stare.

"What- why do you think so?" he asked, watching Philza hum and tap his chin in thought.

"Well, yesterday, when he went to get health potions for Dream and Spifey, he refused to let anyone come with him to his house. I thought it was suspicious. We already know he's a Mimic, so what else does he have to hide?" Philza asked, making Techno blink in realization. 

"He has Bad-."

"What happened to Dream?" Sapnap asked, pushing away Tommy, who was still shaking him despite him claiming he was awake. He stood up and hurried over to Philza's side with a concerned stare. 

"He got angry after you guys got dragged into the portal and beat the shit out of Techno, Mimic Techno. It pissed Techno off that Dream was winning the fight, so he snapped and tried killing him-," Philza blinked at Sapnap's mortified face and quickly added, "he only managed to give him a concussion and a panic attack. Like I said, Bad healed him."

Sapnap's worried face crumpled into one of relief, and a grin spread across his face. "Thank God- a panic attack?"

"Yeah, his mask broke in the fight-."

"You got to see his face, and I wasn't even there!" Tommy complained as he walked over. Sapnap chuckled and ruffled his hair, making Tommy groan. "Why does everyone do that- hey!" Techno copied Sapnap with a small chuckle. 

"He's good now?" Philza nodded, and Techno sighed. "Good, and we have an idea of where Bad is." Techno's face adopted a small grin, causing the three to look at him. 

"What?" Sapnap asked, a small smile playing at his lips. 

"Oh- you've got a plan, don't you?" Philza asked, leaning against the tree while Techno nodded. 

"Yep. Hey, Mega, A6D, " he called, spinning around and gaining the two's attention. "How good is your acting?" Mega gave him a blank stare before shaking his head no in distaste. A6D was quick to verbalize his confusion and disagreement with where Techno's plan was heading. "Good, you're both in agreement! Now Philza, how do their Mimic's act?"

...

..

.

"This is a dumb idea. It's not going to work," A6D complained as he stared at Mega's Mimic, who was walking closer along the wood's border.

"Yeah, we should have lured your Mimic out first with some bread crumbs!" Skeppy joked from behind a bush, making A6D huff in annoyance, despite the relief that Skeppy was acting more normally.

"I'm not a fucking bird-."

"Continue this later, he's close enough, go!" Techno ordered. A6D sighed and nodded; he didn't have many options.

"Mega! Please, come here! I need some help, please!" A6D cried out in a convincing panicked voice. Mimic Mega paused near the woods, a look of worry flashing over his face as he quickly hurried in. He looked around in confusion before spotting A6D and rushing over. 

His worry faded into confusion as he gestured to A6D's clothes, and the boy blinked in realization. A6D quickly grabbed Mega and held him close as he covered his mouth with a hand, grunting as he squirmed. "Hurry up, guys! Ow- he bit me, fuck!" 

"Why do you all bite so much?" Techno asked as he walked over, looking at A6D with a loose grin. "Just focus on holding him real quick." A6D merely grunted in response and moved the hand around his mouth to wrap around Mega's torso and arms. Mega struggled in his tight grip as Techno walked forward, pinching his nose closed. 

Mimic Mega's panic skyrocketed; shallow, quick breaths spilled out of his mouth as he jerked in the hold. Techno managed to ball up the loose bit of his scarf and shoved it into his mouth, cutting off both his airways. 

Techno turned his head at the sound of Mega's coughs from a bush but quickly spun back around as he saw the other slowly begin to stop struggling. The second his head dropped, Techno removed his hold on his nose, turning to look at Mega in worry. "All good?" Mega coughed, Zelk now patting his back, but gave a thumbs up. Techno sighed in relief as he nodded at A6D. "You're next."

"That sounds like a threat," A6D pointed out, laying Mega's copy down as he rubbed his hand. Techno laughed.

"Maybe it is," he said with a shrug, picking up the scarf and walking over to Mega. "That was the least painful way I could think of knocking him out, sorry." Mega took the fabric, frowning at the saliva covered end with disgust. "You might want to get changed." Mega nodded and looked at the others with a blank stare. They stared back, not getting the message, causing the mute to huff and twirl his finger. 

"Oh- turn around. Right," Zelk agreed, spinning around. The others followed suit. A clap signaled the group to turn back around, and there stood Mega, sporting his usual attire, the other in his rightful clothes. Techno nodded and looked at Skeppy, who stared at the body. 

"Can you take him to the portal and throw him in?" Skeppy looked at him with wide eyes, blinking, before looking back at the boy.

"Alone?" he asked nervously, hands fidgetting with his sleeves as he gave him an unsure gaze. Techno blinked before shaking his head.

"Nope, not alone, don't worry. Sapnap and Tommy will go with."

"What?-" Tommy asked, but Techno cut him off with a stare. He huffed and rolled his eyes, "I mean- yeah. I guess you would need a big strong male like me to protect these two. It makes sense." Techno gave him an amused smile, holding out the mirror. 

"Yes, Tommy, that's the exact reason I chose you. Get out of here, nerds. Mega, A6D, Zelkam, you know your roles. Philza, go home, it'll be too suspicious with you missing. Don't tell the others yet; we don't want to risk our plan," Techno ordered, and with various signs of agreement, Techno began taking back his home.

...

..

.

Mega concealed his frown with a small smile, remembering what Zelk had told him. He didn't need to act too hard and speak; he only had to convince A6D's copy. So there he stood, smiling directly at the enemy who was none the wiser. Instead, A6D's Mimic merely chatted away, as though nothing was wrong.

"Hey- we should go check on Bad and Techno. Last I heard, Bad was going to yell at Techno for his stunt yesterday." Mega quickly shook his head 'no,' that was the last thing he needed. A6D gave him a confused stare before tapping his chin. "You're right. I do hate Bad's yelling. What should we do?"

Mega thought for a moment, confused about how to convince A6D to follow him to the woods. He sighed when he couldn't come up with anything and opted for merely pointing at the trees. A6D blinked as he followed his finger, then looked to Mega, who gave him a small smile. The smile felt all too fake on his lips, but yet, "Huh? Yeah, sure! It's not often you like exploring," A6D seemed to fall for it.

A6D wrapped his hand around Mega's, then winced and pulled away. "Sorry, my hand's been hurting ever since this morning. Maybe a bug bit it." Mega mentally laughed, recalling A6D's complaints of his Mimic biting him. He merely shrugged and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him along. 

As they neared their planned location, Mega caught A6D's Mimic waving at him from his right. He turned and looked at him with a curious look, but shrugged it off and continued walking while A6D stared at him. He only stopped walking when A6D did.

"Where's Mega?" he asked, causing Mega to spin around with a confused stare. "You're not Mega. Mega can't see out of his right eye, so he wouldn't have seen me wave." A6D grabbed Mega's arm tightly, a dark glint in his eye. "So, where's Mega?"

"Don't worry; you'll be joining him," Zelk said as he tackled A6D to the floor, jerking Mega along. Zelk pinned A6D's fake on the grass, holding him as still as he could while Mega picked himself up and quickly covered his mouth and nose. 

A6D stared at them with wide, shocked eyes, before thrashing more under their grip as tears welled in his eyes. Mega frowned and looked away as he heard his A6D begin to cough. He felt the boy begin to fall limp a few moments later and released him as his eyes fluttered close. He held a finger under his nose, feeling a small exhale of air. 

"Alright, A6D- stop coughing-." Zelk began, standing up and brushing off his clothes.

"Fuck off," A6D choked out, flipping him off as he took deep breaths. "That was horrible." Mega nodded in agreement, and Zelk merely shrugged.

"It wasn't that bad-." Mega slapped him on the back of his head. "Sorry- ok! Get changed! I can take him back to the portal while you two distract Techno's Mimic." A6D groaned loudly but pulled off his scarf anyway. 

"I hate this acting stuff," he complained. Mega, once again, nodded in agreement. 

...

..

.

Bad's Mimic was not in his house; the building was devoid of life and its usual happiness. Techno did, however, find Bad, with bound hands and feet, mouth tapped shut, huddled in a corner, his face shoved into his knees. He only acknowledged Techno when he had made a small noise walking over. Bad's head shot up quickly, and the second he saw Techno, he flinched away.

A pit settled in Techno's stomach at his reaction, but he tried to ignore it. He slowly walked closer, holding his hands up in surrender and offering Bad a small smile. "Hey Bad," Techno called out cooly as he approached. "It's me, Techno. The actual Techno, not the phony. Can I come closer to cut you free?" 

Bad's eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head no, worry plastered on his face. Techno froze, blinking in realization before nodding.   
"Right- that was dumb. Here," Techno took his sword out, trying to push back his worry when Bad pressed himself further against the wall. Techno tossed the sword aside with a clatter, then held his hands back up, watching as Bad's face softened. Techno swallowed and looked at him with another gentle smile. "Can I untie you now? I swear I'll stop if you think anything is wrong."

Bad stared at him for a moment before nodding. Techno slowly advanced once more until he was knelt in front of him. Techno first pulled off the tape as painlessly as he could, apologizing when Bad winced then moving to his hands. The second his hands were free, he wrapped his arms around Techno, holding him tightly. Techno stiffly patted his back, feeling him tremble beneath his grip. "I don't think I like me," he muttered against his shirt.

Techno nodded understandingly, wrapping his arms and pulling him into a tight embrace. "Yeah, I know what that's like," Techno murmured, peeling from the boy who remained wrapped around his chest. He worked around him to untie his feet, not daring to ask him to move. "If all works to plan, you won't have to see him again." 

Bad pulled back, rubbing his red, puffy eyes as he looked at Techno curiously. "Plan?" Techno nodded, pushing himself up and offering the other a hand. 

"Yeah, I have to figure out a way to lead him into the woods. It's more private, so others don't see, and I can get him to the portal easier," Techno explained as he looked over to the bedroom door. Bad took his hand, steadying himself as Techno pulled him up.

"I can do it-." Techno turned to look at Bad, who had a determined look in his eye. "Please?" Techno smirked and shrugged, picking his sword up and shoving it into his sheath. 

"I didn't have a plan, lay it on me."

..

.

Bad huffed as he pushed open the door to his copy's house, annoyance radiating off of him as he walked in. Techno annoyed the shit out of him with his ever-present grin and his egotistical attitude. If one more thing went wrong, he was ready to kill. He stomped to his bedroom, pushing the door open with a slam, and his eyes immediately went to the corner of the room.

He cursed under his breath, cracking his knuckles as he looked around, pulling his eyes away from the newly abandoned ropes. "At least I know who to kill." He stalked to the back door, which was swung wide open and scoffed, pinching his nose with a heavy sigh. He looked at the footprints with a glare, chuckling darkly. What an idiot. 

He ran into the woods, following his idiotic copy's tracks as he weaved through trees. He slowed to a stop, huffing as he stared at his prey, merely a foot ahead of him, leaning against a tree tiredly. Bad took a few steps towards the weak boy, a ferocious grin spreading across his face.

"Did you really think you could escape? You're fucking pathetic," Bad chirped, walking towards the other. He froze when the other gave him a soft smile, lifting his head warily.

"Wow," his counter hummed, his smile growing. "You really did fall for it, huh?" Bad's face morphed into one of confusion before he heard a rustle from behind. He was a second too late with spinning around, and a sword connected hard with his head, sending him collapsing to the ground. 

Techno stood over the boy, then looked to Bad, who cradled his head in his hands. "Are you ok?" Techno asked, despite knowing the answer. Bad, however, just gave a thumbs-up, taking a shaky breath. He looked up with a wince, nodding.

"Yeah, I'm good. Let's get this over with." Techno nodded and spun around, only hearing rustling as Bad swapped his attire with his Mimic. He felt a tap on his back and turned back, looking at Bad, who returned his stare with a smile. "Ready for the next part of the plan."

Techno heaved Mimic BBH over his shoulder and began through the woods, hearing only the soft crunch of leaves as Bad followed behind. Eventually, the two- no, three- arrived at the portal, finding Zelk, Skeppy, Tommy, and Sapnap gathered around over by nearby trees. Sapnap seemed to notice them first and snatched the mirror from Tommy's hand, earning a loud noise of protest. He merely shoved the boy aside and ran over, holding the object out to Techno, who took it with a small 'thanks.' 

As Techno went to return the threat to his rightful home, Sapnap trailing along and quietly talking with him, the others seemed to have noticed their arrival. While Tommy rushed Techno's side, Skeppy and Zelk ambushed Bad. 

Bad watched Skeppy run-up, expecting him to stop before reaching him. To his shock, Skeppy didn't slow until he tightly embraced his best friend in his bone-crushing grip. Bad blinked in surprise, but a fond smile quickly found its way to his lips. He patted the other on his hood. "Nice to see you, too!"

He started to grow slightly concerned when he didn't let go, and instead, his grip tightened. "Skeppy?" He looked at Zelk, who watched Skeppy with worry. "Bad's alright, look." Skeppy lifted his head, staring at Bad with a vacant gaze, blinking a few times before the haze in his eyes dispersed. "See, all good."

Skeppy blinked hard, once more, as if to make sure he was still there before pulling away, nodding. He smiled lightly, nodding in confirmation as he rubbed his arm. "Sorry- I don't-," he stopped and closed his mouth, thinking of what to say. He once again opened it, then closed it again. Bad smiled and pulled him into a softer hug, patting his back. 

"I'm glad you're ok, too, Skeppy," Bad hummed, seeming to understand Skeppy's unspoken message and return it with definite kindness. 

"Thanks, Bad." Techno walked over to the trio, Tommy and Sapnap trailing behind him as he approached. 

"Alright, Bad. We need you for the final part of our plan," Techno hummed, a small smirk on his face as he walked over. Bad had an uneasy pit in his stomach.

.

"You want me to what?" The six sat in a circle, Bad's face sporting a worried expression as Skeppy rolled on the grass with fits of laughter.

"You're going to have to swear, Bad. You can't act like your Mimic if you don't," Sapnap explained with a sympathetic smile, watching Bad's gaze land on him.

"Can't- But- I can just replace the bad words. Techno probably won't notice! I don't even know how to swear-." Skeppy pushed himself up into a sitting position and slung his arm around Bad with a wide grin. 

"Don't worry! I can teach you," Skeppy assured, only receiving an unsure look from Bad. Bad shook his head quickly, directing his attention back to Techno, who gave him a weary stare.

"Do I have to- I don't know if I can," Bad pleaded. Techno shrugged, running a hand through his hair.

"I- Bad, I want to go home. I want to go back home and hang out with my friends. I want to eat my favorite meals, and I want everything to go back to normal. I want to sleep. I won't force you to do anything." Techno seemed like he wanted to say more, but instead, he closed his mouth and exhaled gently, looking over at the trees. 

Bad took note of how tired Techno looked at that moment. He watched the group take sad glances at Techno, then look to him. Bad nodded, catching Techno's attention once more. "Alright, let's get him," Bad accepted with a nod. "Then, we can all have a big sleepover!"

The group added in a chorus of excited agreement at the idea, Sapnap offering for it to be at the Dream Team's house since it had the most space. Techno smirked at the group's plans and looked to Bad with a thankful gaze, "Yeah, that sounds nice."

"Ok! Repeat after me, fuck," Skeppy ordered, spinning Bad to face him with a tight grip on his shoulders. Bad laughed nervously, the group's chatter died, and all eyes were on the two.

"Can't I just- start with the smaller ones?" Skeppy shook his head at the request, a determined look on his face. 

"No can do. It's like ripping a band-aid off! Once you do the big ones, it'll be easier to do the small ones!" Skeppy claimed, receiving a nod from Bad.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. F-," Bad dragged out the letter, his face contorting into one of distaste. "Fuh- I can't do it!"

"Come on, Bad! That was so close! You can do it!" Skeppy cheered before various voices around the group began shouting words of encouragement. Bad looked around with widened eyes before a grin stretched across his face, and newfound determination sparked within him.

"F- Fuck!" The group erupted into loud cheers and applause. Bad grinned, looking at Skeppy, who was cheering with the rest. "Ok! What's next?"

  
..

.

Techno looked at Mega and A6D with a small grin, walking along the path with a handful of flowers. "They're going to have to get over themselves and be my friends at some point, right?" 

Mega and A6D looked between each other before Mega nodded enthusiastically in reply, and A6D smiled at him. "Of course! No one can stay mad at you," A6D reassured sweetly. Techno seemed to accept this and turned his head back towards the Dream Team's house. 

"Well, first, I should apologize. Even if I didn't do anything wrong," Techno hummed, walking up the steps and knocking loudly on the door. It took a few moments, but it swung open, and George stood at the other side, his curious expression morphing into one of distaste. 

"What do you want?" he spat, hatred clear in his voice, but Techno either didn't notice or didn't care. He held out the flowers with a kind smile, watching George's face once again morph into confusion. 

"I wanted to apologize for my actions, especially toward Dream and for your friend's disappearance! I honestly had no clue that could happen- the portal is the one thing I know almost nothing about," Techno explained as George took the flowers with a suspicious look. "They're normal flowers, nothing to worry about."

"I don't trust you-," George pointed out, tossing the flowers aside and looking back at Techno. "Do you want something else, or can I slam the door in your face?" Techno opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a pair of footsteps behind him. He turned curiously, and there stood Bad, a frown on his face. 

"Are you over your tantrum yet?" Techno asked, causing Bad's hard stare to shift to one of confusion. A6D seemed to notice and quickly caught Techno's attention.

"Tantrum?" he asked curiously, tilting his head. Techno glanced at him and nodded.

"You know how he gets when I do something to piss him off. He tries to fight me, and when I win, he stomps off silently," Techno explained before turning back to Bad, who had returned to his cold gaze. "So, are you over it?"

"Fuck no," Bad replied quickly, ignoring A6D's excited stare and Mega's shocked expression. "I just thought-," Bad stopped and looked at George, who watched the four suspiciously, "You'd like to know."

"Know what?" Techno asked, suspicion painting his face as he watched Bad. His gaze shifted from Techno to George once more, and he rolled his eyes. "Why do you keep looking at George?" Techno asked cooly.

"Because," Bad blinked, trying to formulate a reason, "I thought you'd want to know in private, but I guess not. We have an issue at the portal. Techno's back."

"What?" George asked in confusion as Techno adopted a look of annoyance. 

"What a pest," he hissed, hand wrapped tightly around his sword's handle. "Is anyone else back?"

"Nope," Bad replied smoothly, shoving his hands in his hoodie pocket. "Better hurry though, I think he's resting now and plans to attack at night. His dumb ass was asleep near the portal when I saw him." Techno nodded and looked over to Mega and A6D with a grin. 

"Let's go take care of one last issue." The two nodded, both sporting a bright smile before Techno turned to George, who still stood in the door, stunned by the news. "Don't cause any issues, and maybe I can get some of your friends back!" he cheered, a sweet smile gracing his lips. George said nothing, but Techno didn't wait for a reply. Instead, he rushed for the woods. 

Upon arrival, the four slowed to a stop. There, leaned against the fountain's frame, was Techno, twirling a mirror in his hand. He looked up at the movement with a small smirk. "I want my home back."

Techno's Mimic scoffed as he walked forward, hand on his hip. "I'm not giving it up. You're outnumbered and outmatched, give up." Techno shook his head at his Mimic's request, pushing himself up.

"This is a fight between you and me; they won't intervene," Techno assured, placing the mirror back in his belt loop. He took off his cape, which he had taken back from Tommy earlier in the day, and tossed it aside. Techno's copy scoffed at him.

"They're not your friends. I'm sorry to say, but you don't get a choice." Techno laughed, gesturing to the three. 

"Take another look," Techno suggested, amusement painting his face as his Mimic spun around. Bad waved at him, and Mega and A6D dropped their forced kindness. Mega flipped Techno off. "But don't worry, as I said, they won't intervene."

"Hah, alright. So everyone's back?" Techno nodded, and the Mimic grinned. "Good, then all I have to do is get rid of you. Then everything will return to how it should be," Mimic hummed, stepping forward with his hand on his sword's handle. "You don't belong here, Techno. I'm the better half; I should have a better world, a world where crime isn't the first resort to problems."

Techno scoffed, looking at him with a frown. "Yeah? And what about your friends, they all seemed worried about where you went. What about Tommy?" He watched his Mimic's face drop at the name.

"Some of my friends didn't seem to care for a better world; they wouldn't belong, like Bad. I didn't invite him because I didn't think he'd fit in or that he'd like it. He didn't. As for Tommy, he didn't want to come. I tried- he didn't want to." Techno seemed to frown at the memory, but he shook his head and brushed it off. "So that's why you need to go back and keep him company! I'll make you if I have to."

"If you wish to defeat me," Techno began, pulling out his sword. "You must train for another one hundred years." His Mimic merely grinned and pulled out his sword.

"No matter how hard you train, you won't defeat me," his Mimic assured before rushing at him. Techno was quick to block his first swing, then his second, then his third. He took a low kick at his legs, but his copy quickly jumped back to dodge. The two Technos circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move. "Don't lose, Techno. Everyone is watching. Maybe now they'll see how much better I am." 

Techno took a small glance around, finding his group littering the opening's border. Sapnap's hands were placed firmly on Tommy's shoulder and seemed to be holding him there. "Ah- don't look away," his Mimic called, lunging at Techno. 

Techno quickly sidestepped, but his Mimic mirrored his action and followed him. Techno tilted away from the sword jabbed at his head and grabbed the Mimic's wrist, dropping his own sword and pulling the other forward. The boy stumbled forward into the grass but wasted no time in swinging a kick from where he laid and knocking Techno down. 

Techno quickly rolled back from where he fell, narrowly dodging his Mimic's sword. He heard a frustrated groan and looked over to see his Mimic glaring down at him. He slammed his boot into the other's knee, ignoring the shared pain, and pushed himself up, picking up his sword in the process. Techno was only partially aware of the cheers coming from his friends. His Mimic picked himself up, and the two once again began their song, their swords clashing in beautiful harmony.

He managed to get a decent cut on his copy's cheek, but the other paid back the injury by busting his lip with an unseen punch. The fight continued on, each swing countered by a block, each kick avoided, the movements in perfect synchronization. Their fight appeared choreographed to the naked eye, but the truth was, they were copies of one another. Their skills matched by fate.

The only thing that could affect their battle was outside intervention. Such interference could be the simplest things, an animal, the environment, or even noise. In this situation, it was the sound of multiple footsteps, hurried, frantic. Techno's head snapped in the direction of the noise, only for a moment. There, on the wood's border, were his family and friends. His whole village of misfits was frozen there, staring at the two with various expressions. Some looked worried, some seemed relieved, Dream looked panicked.

"Techno-." His warning registered too late. The back of a sword slammed into his hand, causing his sword to clatter to the ground. A second later, he had fallen to the ground due to a swift kick under his legs. He looked up at his opponent, at himself, and felt the cold iron press against his neck. 

"Oh, my," his Mimic hummed with a blank stare. "You messed up." Techno could feel a drop of blood drip down his chin as he stared up. "Are you going to go through the portal? Or will I have to kill you in front of all your friends?" Techno laughed bitterly.

"You'll die if I die."

"No, I won't. Our pain is connected, not our injuries," his Mimic corrected, watching Techno's bitter grin grow. 

"You'll die from shock due to the pain." His Mimic returned his feral grin.

"Maybe. Or maybe," the copycat mused, pressing the sword slightly harder against his throat. "Maybe if I kill you quickly enough, your body won't have time to register the pain, so neither will mine." Techno blinked in realization. "So, death or portal?"

Techno looked around; everyone seemed frozen to their spot. Good. He quickly grazed over their tear-filled eyes, not daring to look too long. That would make it harder. He froze as he stared at Tommy, remembering the message he wanted to give him. "Hey, Tommy," he started, praying his Mimic would let him speak. He didn't hear any attempt to cut him off. "Sorry I couldn't take you to the Nether. Can you do me one more favor?" 

Tommy's teary resolve crumbled with his question, and Sapnap had to grab him in a tight hug to hold him back. "There's something in your notebook that I need you to see, not yet, but later." He gave the boy a final smile and looked back to his Mimic, who grinned in victory. "I choose option three," his smile dropped, and he stared at him with confusion. Before he could question him, Techno picked up the sword beside him and swung its hilt into his side. 

A loud crash echoed throughout the forest as well as a 'no' from the Mimic. The fog began engulfing the area that surrounded them, and Techno quickly wrapped around his Mimic to keep him from running. "This could kill us, idiot!" he shouted in alarm. Techno remained around his copy. 

"It's possible, but I'd rather both of us die than leave you to terrorize and ruin my home," Techno assured, looking around through the fog. "Goodb-." 

Tommy had managed to break free of Sapnap's grip and ran towards the fog, but by the time he made it, it had dispersed. And the two were gone.

  
...

..

.

"Dear Tommy,  
If you're reading this, I probably did something life-threatening to save you and the others because my original plan didn't work. Unless you just stumbled upon this letter and I forgot to tear it out, then don't mind this. 

I'm writing while you, Skeppy, Zelk, Mega, A6D, and Sapnap sleep. You snore a lot more than you may believe, but that's ok. It's comforting. I want you to know that I don't regret risking my life for any one of you, and I'd do it a thousand times again. 

I used to think life wasn't about the people I met along the way, but instead about the adventure. Now I've learned that the people I met along the way is its own adventure. It's an adventure that's taken over my life, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love you, and everyone I've met, so much. You've all helped me to become a better me, and I appreciate it more than words can describe. 

Can you please deliver some messages to the others? I would write them all notes, but I don't have time. 

For Spifey, Zelk, and Mega: I didn't know you three the best I could have, and I'm sorry. It would have been amazing to spend more time together and get to know each other. I wish you three the best, and I hope you branch out and grow closer with those in the village. Hold on to each other. Losing friends is a painful and hard experience. Keep pushing forward, and I'm sorry I didn't grow closer when I could have.

For Skeppy, Bad, and A6D: We had some good times, and I am eternally grateful to have known you three. Skeppy, it's up to you and Dream to protect the village. Keep up your pranks and challenges; they bring a lot of fun to our town. Bad, keep everyone safe and healthy and keep up your kindness. Our friends need your light. A6D, keep the other two in check but don't be so quick to temper. I don't want to see friends pushed apart over fights. I'm so thankful to have run into you three and hope you can help keep this town happy.

For Dream, George, and Sapnap: I wish we could have met more. I knew you guys for less time than I had hoped, but I cherish the time we had. Dream, please keep my friends and family safe; you're incredibly smart and talented. I know you will do amazing things for this village, and I hope you can help Tommy out. He may mess up and annoy people, but he's a great kid. George, I didn't know you that well, but I know you provide so much love and support to those around you. Keep pushing everyone forward, and I'm sorry we couldn't interact more. Sapnap, I only feel like I got to know you through this experience. Strangely, I don't hate this adventure because I enjoy our interactions. You're a great person, and I want you to help provide support for our friends. You're kind-hearted and cool-headed, and I know you can do so much for everyone. I wish I could say more, but I seem to be running low on time and paper.

Wilbur and Philza: You guys have provided me with the closest thing I've had to a family. For all I care, you guys are my family. Please, remain a family and stick together. Don't isolate each other, believe in each other. Wilbur, you're like a brother to me, and I love you so much. You're so incredibly talented, and you have so much going for you in life. You filled my life with charisma and happiness, and I cannot thank you enough. You've taught me so much in the time I've known you, one of those things was love. Without your presence, I don't think I would have ever found a home, so thank you. I hope you don't get caught up on my death- or whatever happened, and you keep our family together. They depend on you just as much as I did, and please be a brother to Tommy. He'll need your guidance too. 

Philza, you're like the dad of our family. You never failed to laugh at my jokes and brighten my day. You're so supportive, and I trust you with absolutely anything and everything. You provide the advice and emotional comfort our group needs. I have learned so much from you, and you were the final piece needed in our family. I admire you so much. You're an extraordinary inspiration for me, and I hope you can be the same for Tommy. I've gotten a better grasp on how to communicate, and I know you're the leading cause behind it. Thank you for being you, I love you so much, and I hope you can forgive me for leaving. 

Finally, Tommy, this is for you. I'm sorry I have to leave. You went through so much to get me back, and now I'm selfishly leaving once more. I wish I could be there to see you grow and to see the person you'll become. You're like a little brother to me, and I know you're going to be amazing at whatever you do. I'd ask you not to bother anyone too much, but I think that's one of the unique aspects of you. Honestly, I don't want you to change at all. I can't be there to protect you anymore, so please lean on others for help. This experience certainly is an unusual first adventure, one that you'll never forget. You never forget your first adventure, and I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm torn. I want you to remember me, for me to be an important part of your life, but that's selfish. So instead, please forget me. I love you, Tommy, I always will. Stay safe.

Goodbye,  
Technoblade." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like it?
> 
> Do you want... a sequel?? Because I have one planned out, I just need to know if it's what you guys want. 
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading! Stay safe, I love you all! Good morning/afternoon/evening/night.


End file.
